Kailani: Legend of the Seven Seas
by Max Wolfwing
Summary: Did you know Sinbad had a daughter with a dark secret that even she doesn't know?
1. Chapter 1

I held on tightly to the foremast of our ship, the _Chimera_, as we glided closer and closer to a King's ship, which was transporting the Book of Peace. We planned to steal the Book and strike it rich by ransoming the Book for however many crowns the people of the Twelve Cities would be willing to cough up. As I trained my eye on the King's ship, I tuned into what my dad, Sinbad, was saying to the crew.

"Gentlemen," he began, "this is what we've been waiting for. The world's most valuable object is on its way to Syracuse." He walked in front of the crew and looked out ahead of us. Spike, our dog, walked next to him, drooling all the way. Dad put his hands on his hips. He turned back to the crew. "It's a shame it'll never get there," he said, his trademark grin on his face. The crew laughed at his joke and Spike barked, slobbering all over the deck. "After today," Dad wrapped up, rubbing his hands together, "we retire to Fiji." The crew cheered and grabbed their weapons. Rat and I swung on our ropes, cackling as we went around and around the others' heads.

"Kale!" Dad called.

"Aye, Captain," Kale called back, and turned us broadside to the other ship.

"Spike!" Dad hollered, and the dog barked as he turned the pulley that brought out the spikes installed on the sides of the ship. Dad swung up onto the front mast with me. He sighed happily as he stared at the other ship.

"Let's get rich!" Dad cried, and grabbed the rope I offered him as Kale swerved the _Chimera_ into the other ship, making the spikes lock into it, so we could get across easily. Dad and I swung across together and landed in the midst of the King's crew. I whooped and whipped out my knives while Dad took out three men with his swords. I quickly dispatched the two men in front of me and ran to the nearest mast. I climbed out of reach of the King's men and began cutting the ropes. I left one intact and used it to swing around, clipping our enemies' heads with the butt of my knife, knocking out some and momentarily dazing others. I passed Rat, who was doing the same as me, and was laughing gleefully, too.

While I swung around, I saw Spike jump on the ship and begin licking and drooling all over anyone he could find. Jin and Li, the twins, were flinging each other around on their staff, taking out up to three men at a time. Kale broke off a piece of their ship and swung it around like a bat. Jet lit and threw a handful of his homemade mini smoke bombs at the feet of four men and began to fight them as they cough and rubbed their eyes. I whooped some more as a big brute grabbed my ankle and yanked me down from my rope.

I rolled to my feet and assumed my fighting stance. "Don't you know attacking the King's and Prince's men is a capital offense, boy?" he asked as he swung his broadsword at me, which I easily ducked under.

"I do," I said, blocking his next swing with one of my knives and stabbing at him with the other. He jumped out of the way, releasing his sword from my knife, and opening himself to another quick attack. I feinted to the right and hit him on a pressure point on his neck, paralyzing him. "But I'm a girl," I said, and grabbed another rope and swung off, whooping again.

I found Dad and Kale at the other side of the ship, all their men down. "Did you see that last move?" Dad asked. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"I think you overworked it," Kale said. "Just a little."

"I didn't catch it," I said. "I thought we were here to steal, not show off."

Dad scowled at the both of us as Kale knocked out the guy he had been holding in a headlock. "Overworked it?" he muttered to himself, rolling his eyes. One of the few men standing charged at us, yelling his head off and swinging his sword. Kale caught the sword in his teeth, scaring the man, and flipped him overboard with one quick turn of his head. Kale was a powerful, broad-shouldered African man who never wore a shirt, and Dad's closest advisor. Only Kale and I could get away with anything from Dad.

"Oh?" Dad said to Kale. "And I was overworking it?" Kale spit out the sword and chuckled, but didn't say anything. I grinned and turned my attention to a fight up near the quarterdeck. One man was taking on three of ours, and making quick work of them.

"Proteus!" Dad said.

"Oh," Kale said. "This just got interesting. How long has it been?"

"Why is it interesting, Kale?" I asked, looking at the man fighting our crew. He wasn't too bad with that sword he had, unlike most of his crew. He was about Dad's height, with long brown hair he had tied back in a loose ponytail. I tried to get a good look at his eyes, but he kept turning a twisting, so I couldn't.

Dad and Kale ignored my question. "About a lifetime ago," Dad said, and approached the man. "You still fight like an old lady," he told the man.

"Sinbad?" the man asked, looking around. He was caught off guard as I tackled him past Dad and into the awaiting arms of four of the crew, including Kale.

"Sinbad," the man said again, looking at Dad, who uncrossed his arms to look at him. "What…what are you doing here?" He shook off the arms of the crew. They let him go. Why, I wasn't sure. I stood next to Dad as he twirled his knife.

"I'm working," he answered, turned around, and plunged his knife into the door handle. He broke it off. "You?" He flicked his wrist and the handle came off his knife.

"What happened to you?" the man asked. "Where have you been?"

"Hey, I'd love to stop and catch up, but, I've got things to do, places to go, stuff to steal." He opened the door, chuckling, and walked in, me and the man following him closely.

Dad whistled. The room was bare, except for a pedestal with a glowing book on it. "Oh, yeah," Dad said, getting that gleam he always got when he knew he hit the jackpot in his eye.

"Sinbad," the man said, coming around and laying a hand on Dad's shoulder. "We need to talk."

"Heard about it, read about it," Dad said, pushing the man's hand off his shoulder. "Never actually seen it. Come here, Lani," he said, and walked up to the pedestal. "The Book of Peace," Dad breathed, and we stared at the Book. It seemed to have no pages as you looked at it head on, and it glowed blue with strange symbols floating around on it. Some of the symbols seemed to be taking shape in the air, even. Dad rubbed his chin as he stared at it, grinning. I smiled too, waiting for the order to grab it.

"It's my job to bring it safely to Syracuse," the man said, putting a hand in front of Dad. He seemed to either not realize I was there, or he was ignoring me.

"Really?" Dad said. "You see, know I just feel bad, 'cause you're gonna get fired." I giggled and reached for the Book. The man smacked my hands away. "You can't be serious," he said. Dad walked around the pedestal, examining the Book. "You disappear for ten years, then show up and rob me?"

"I wish it wasn't you," Dad said, looking up at the man. "I do, really, but—"

"But it _is_ me!" the man exclaimed. "Sinbad—"

"Proteus," Dad said, looking the man, who I now realized was the prince, in the eye, "we had a special handshake, some code words, even a secret hideout." Dad sighed. "It was fun, big fun, but we were kids."

"We were friends!" Proteus cried. He calmed down. "You're not gonna steal this," he said with a certain firmness. "Not from me."

"Oh yes we are," I said, and reached to snatch the Book from the pedestal. "Hey!" Proteus cried, and grabbed my wrist. I struggled to get my hand out of his iron grip, and reached for the Book of Peace with my other hand.

"Kailani," Dad said, "don't."

Astonished, I stood there, my hand hovering over the book. "But, Dad—" I protested.

"No buts," he said. "Now Proteus, let her go." Dad grabbed the Prince's hand and made him drop mine.

"'Dad?'" Proteus asked. "He's yours?"

"Yes and no," Dad said, letting go of Proteus's arm. "And _she_ is a girl."

Proteus looked at me with his jaw hanging down. "It's a long story," Dad said.

"Tell me later," Proteus said, shaking himself out of his reverie. "You're not taking this. And what would you do with it anyway? The Book of Peace protects all of us in the Twelve Cities," he said.

"Exactly," Dad said. "So just imagine how much all of us will pay to get it back." I grinned, imagining myself swimming through a mountain of gold pieces.

Proteus shook his head and moved between Dad and the Book. "Let me say it again: a long time ago, you and I were friends. If that _ever_ meant _anything_ to you, prove it now."

Dad sighed. "You're right," he said. He grinned. "That was a long time ago." He reached for the Book. Proteus grabbed his hand and threw Dad down, pulling one of Dad's swords out from its sheath in the process. Dad got up fast, but I was faster. I jumped on the Prince's back and grabbed a hold of his hand that held the sword, trying to wrench it from his grasp. The Prince shook me off like an annoying fly, throwing me against the wall. Dad had rolled to his feet and drawn his other sword. As soon as I was out of the way, he pointed at Proteus, who twirled Dad's stolen sword. "Come on, don't get all heroic, Proteus," Dad said, relaxing. He tried to push Proteus and his sword out of the way and step to the Book, but Proteus reacted, swinging a short, dangerous swing at Dad, who dodged nimbly out of the way and pointed his sword at the Prince. He swung, and Proteus dodged, leaving the Book of Peace open. Dad lunged, but Proteus blocked him again, and swung. They began to dance and leap at each other, Proteus keeping Dad's attention on him, Dad still trying to get the Book.

"If you want the Book," Proteus said when their sword hilts met, "you'll have to go through me."

"Not quite," I said, grabbing the Book. I leapt back from a sword that Proteus swung at me, and tucked the still-open Book under my arm and pulled out my knives.

A large tentacle that burst through the side made us all fall down and made me drop the Book. Proteus snatched it up and set it back on the pedestal. The tentacle slithered around and pulled itself out of the hole it had created. Dad and Proteus looked at each other. Dad looked at me, and I looked back. "What the—?" Dad said, and the three of us ran outside, where both crews were fighting what looked like a giant green octopus.

"Dear gods," Proteus said. The ocean churned at the head of the boat, where the octopus seemed to be coming from. Suddenly the animal reared its head. I knew what it was.

"Cetus," I breathed. I looked at Dad. He nodded.

We watched as Spike ran over to one of the tentacles and latched onto the end. Cetus flipped the tentacle up in the air, but Spike held on tightly.

Dad huffed in amusement. "Go, Spike," he said.

Spike held onto his piece of the monster, which broke off as Cetus flipped him over towards our ship. "I gotcha! I gotcha!" Luca, one of our crew, cried, and was bowled over by the flying Spike.

"Well, I see your busy," Dad said, sheathing his swords and patting Proteus on the back. "Come on, Lani," he said, guiding me back to the ship, which had broken away from Proteus's. We leaped onto the railing next to the rope lines that held up the masts. Dad grabbed my hand with one of his and used the other to grab a rope. Proteus watched us, astonished.

"Wait, wait! You're just going to run away?" he asked, following us over.

"Uh, yeah," Dad said. We turned around and prepared to jump over to our ship. The monster had other ideas. It pushed a giant tentacle in between the ships, shoving ours too far away for us to jump. Our arms wheeled as we fought to maintain our balance and not fall into the churning ocean. Cetus pulled its tentacle back and knocked it into the main boom, which swung wildly, breaking and hitting other things on our ship. "Sinbad! Lani!" I heard Kale call.

"You…you…I…MY SHIP!" Dad yelled at the monster. He glared at it.

I looked back to see Proteus hopping in between Cetus's thrashing tentacles. He chopped and swung his sword at them, trying to get close enough to the head. He jumped onto one of the tentacles and sliced at it, then stabbed it. He didn't see another tentacle coming at him until it was almost too late. It smacked Proteus in the side and knocked him across the ship. Another tentacle was coming in to smash him to a grease spot.

Luckily, I had sprang into action, and swung in on a rope. I quickly cut off the end of the tentacle with my short sword, sheathed it, and pulled Proteus to his feet.

The monster reared back its head, revealing its mouth. A freaky tongue shot out, and grabbed one of Proteus's men. It wrapped around the man's legs and pulled him into the monster's mouth, making a crunching sound as the man was eaten.

"Heads up!" I heard Dad call, and Proteus and I turned around to see him standing on a barrel with a fuse in it and holding a lighted torch. He grinned at us, then bent down and lighted the fuse of the barrel. He jumped off and launched it off the plank it was on and into the air. Cetus took the bait and its tongue lashed out and grabbed the barrel. It swallowed.

Dad came over and laid a hand on my shoulder. "Stand by for sushi," he said, and the three of us watched and waited.

The monster seemed to know something was wrong, and stopped attacking the crew. A split second later, we heard a muffled _boom_, and watched smoke come out of holes on either side of where the monster's mouth was. It reared back its head and sprayed us with a thick, sticky greenish liquid that had the consistency of snot. It also spit out the crewman it had swallowed. We looked at the guy, who was miraculously whole, surprised that he seemed fine. Realizing his good fortune, the man picked up his sword and charged back into the fight, screaming his head off.

I raised my eyebrows, figuring the man was really brave, really stupid, or off his rocker. Possibly all three. "Give that guy a raise," Dad said as we watched him hack away at a tentacle. Proteus nodded.

Cetus attacked with new vigor. It slammed a tentacle down at the three of us, and Dad and Proteus both rolled to the sides while I jumped back. I rebounded myself off the deck and onto the tentacle, stabbing one of my knives into the green-brown flesh to hold on. I gripped the handle and cut away at the tentacle, making Cetus thrash it back and forth. I swung around wildly, trying to keep my knife in the tentacle. It didn't work, though. My knife slipped out, and I fell down toward the deck. I rolled, trying to keep any of my bones from breaking. I turned back to see Dad taunting the monster.

"Hey! Hey hey! Lobster boy! Over here!" he yelled. Cetus glared, and shot its tongue out at Dad and Proteus. They dove to opposite sides, and Dad grabbed Cetus's tongue and shoved one of his swords through it and into the deck of Proteus's ship. Realizing what he was doing, Proteus shoved his sword in, too. I ran over, pushing my knives and short sword through.

Cetus roared and flailed, trying to free its tongue. "Run!" Dad cried, and he grabbed my hand and we ran towards the back of the ship, Proteus by our side.

"Fall back!" Proteus called to his men. Dad looked up and spied the loose yard of the main topsail, hanging by a few ropes. He scooped up another rope I had cut and dropped earlier and cried to Proteus, "Grab hold!" and swung the rope around the base of the mast. He dropped my hand and held it out to Proteus, knowing full well I could climb up on my own. Proteus took Dad's wrist and nodded. "Let's go!" Dad yelled, and we climbed as fast as we could, the guys keeping pace with me. As we neared the top, I spied a knife stuck in the wood. "Lani!" Dad called, seeing it.

"I see it!" I cried, and grabbed it as we passed. I threw it up, and Dad caught it with his teeth. He grunted, and we kept climbing, dodging various tentacles that swung at us. When we reached our destination, the guys dropped the rope and swung themselves up onto the yard.

"And the plan?" Proteus asked, looking at Dad.

Dad spat the knife from his mouth into his hand, grabbing one of the ropes. "How about, 'try not get killed?'" he suggested, his hopeful look on his face.

I looked down to see a tentacle wrapping its way up the foremast to us. "Hold on!" Dad said, and cut the only rope that was on his side. I scrambled over to Proteus, who grabbed my arm and held me close to him, trying not to let me fall. Dad swung over on the rope he had cut and braced himself against the pole that held the part of the mast that Proteus and I were on. "Here," he said, tossing me the knife. "You'll need this!"

"Where are you going?" Proteus asked, one hand gripping my arm, the other holding onto the only rope left.

"Fishing!" Dad said, swinging himself up onto a taught rope attached to a ring at the top. We watched as he walked, arms out, one foot in front of the other, across the rope. I read his lips, and figured he was muttering to himself, "Left, right, left, right," over and over. I gasped as he leaned way to the left, the sighed in relief as he regained his balance. I felt Proteus's hand, which had tightened at the same time I had gasped, relax a little so he wasn't killing my arm. I gasped again when Cetus threw up a tentacle at Dad, but he quickly jumped over the tentacle and grabbed the rope on the other side, but the rope snapped. Proteus gasped with me as we watched Dad fall onto yard of the foretopsail.

Dad seemed fine, and pulled another knife out from behind his back. He cut the rope he was holding, and then ran to the other side of the mast so both ends were pointing down at the monster's head. Dad and Proteus locked eyes. "Give me the knife!" Proteus said. Wordlessly, I gave him the knife and clutched him around his waist. Dad and Proteus both raised their knives.

"Now!" Dad yelled at us, and they cut the ropes. Proteus wrapped his arm back around me as we fell toward the monster's head. I whooped in glee and sheer terror as we got closer and closer to Cetus. Suddenly the rope the Proteus was holding yanked us up and off of the mast, and we dangled in the air.

Cetus looked up, spotting the wood that was coming down to late. The yards skewered it right between its ugly orange eyes. Dad and Proteus were laughing, and I whooped some more, holding onto Proteus with all my might. I made the slight mistake of pumping a fist for a second, and when I felt myself slipping, I grabbed Proteus again. We swung wildly back and forth. Dad let go of his rope first, and landed on our kill.

"Ready?" Proteus asked me.

"Always!" I answered, and he let go of the rope. We landed next to Dad.

The crews were cheering. "You two ok?" Dad asked, looking us over.

"Yeah!" I said, excited and still not over my adrenaline rush. "That was fun!"

Proteus grinned at Dad. "Yeah," he said. He gave Dad a good-natured punch on the shoulder. "Thanks for sticking around," he said, and gave me a smile. I smiled back. I liked Proteus. He was nice.

Dad gave him a lazy smirk and said, "Ah, just like old times." Proteus nodded as Dad laid a hand on his shoulder. Suddenly Dad spotted something behind Proteus and me. "Look out!" he cried, and pushed us down as a tentacle swiped overhead and picked Dad up.

"Sinbad!" Proteus cried, as I called "Dad!" We ran to the side of the ship, trying to reach for him. The tentacle splashed in the water, and Dad along with it. Proteus and I both tried jumping overboard to save him, but two of his men grabbed him and another grabbed me. I fought and kicked, but the man didn't let me go. Proteus fought too, but gave up and watched as Dad sunk down below the surface of the ocean. "Dad!" I screamed.

"It's useless to fight," Proteus said, taking me from the man who held me. I collapsed in his arms, tears running down my face.

"I-I don't know if he can swim," I blubbered. Proteus just held me and didn't say anything. I sniffed and watched my Dad's retreating shadow.

"Tell me something, Lani," the prince said as Dad disappeared, "was he really your father?"

I sniffed again and said, "No. But he was like a father to me." Proteus nodded. "Bring us about to the pirate's ship!" he commanded.

"But, Prince—" one of the men unwisely said.

"I said do it!" Proteus snapped. The men obeyed. Proteus picked me up and brought me over to the helm. "If he wasn't your father," he continued to me, "why do you call him Dad? Where did he find you?"

I gulped down my shaking sobs. "I was an orphan on the streets of a city in Arabia, one of the cities on the coast," I explained. "I found him when he was running from the King's Guards. I hid him in a hidey-hole that I knew. He thanked me and asked my name. I said I didn't have one. 'Nonsense,' he said, 'everybody has a name. Didn't anyone ever tell you your name?' I told him that I was alone, and an orphan. He didn't say anything for a minute, and then he said, 'How would you like to be a part of my crew? I sail the seas, and I could use a good ship's boy.' I told him I was a girl, and he said that was ok, I could be a girl and still be a ship's boy. He told me that I would be able to eat three full meals a day, and I said yes, I would like to be your ship's boy, even if I was a girl. I was about three or four then. I think I'm eight or nine now. Sinbad took me to his ship at night, because, he said, he didn't want to get caught. He snuck me onto his ship and introduced me to the crew. When they asked what my name was, and I said I hadn't got one, he said, 'yes you do, your name is Kailani, or Lani for short.' I asked him where he had heard that, and he told me it was a word meaning 'sea' and 'sky.' The name of the city meant 'City of the Sky,' and he said that I was of the sky, and now I was also of the sea. He told me that he was going to adopt me, even though I didn't know what it meant. When I asked him, he said that he was going to be my father, since I hadn't got one. When I asked him about a mother, he said I didn't need one, all I needed was him. He said we were going to sail the world together, just me, him, and the crew, and go on adventures and have fun. He taught me all I needed to know about being on a ship. Rat and Kale told me some stuff about ships, too."

"Hmm," Proteus said. "Yes, it does make sense."

"What makes sense, Proteus?" I asked.

"Did you know that Sinbad himself was an orphan?" he asked me. When I shook my head, he said, "He was. That was how I met him, actually. It only makes sense that he would take in another orphan for a surrogate child."

I nodded in understanding. A thought came to me. "Proteus?" I asked tentatively. "If…if Dad doesn't surface, what are you going to do with me?"

Proteus kneeled down and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'm going to give you a choice," he said. "I'm going to let you decide between going with your crew and living with Kale and the rest on your ship, or you can come with me and live with me as my surrogate niece. Sinbad was like a brother to me, and since you're his surrogate daughter, I'll take you in as my surrogate niece, but only if you want to."

"Do I have to decide now?" I asked, nervous. I wasn't sure what I wanted.

He shook his head. "No," he said.

"If I choose to stay with my crew, will you let us go or arrest us?" I asked.

"I'll let you all go this time," he said. He stood back up and looked over at the crew of my ship. "Call you dad's right-hand man over," he said. "I want to explain to him what we're going to do."

"K-Kale!" I called. "Come over! Proteus says he won't arrest you or anything!" I felt like I sorely needed Kale's strong arms around me in a tender hug. Kale obeyed my command.

"What's going on, Captain?" he asked me.

"Why'd you call me that?" I asked, breaking away from Proteus and hugging Kale, who hugged back.

"You're the Captain now," he said simply. "Sinbad said that should anything happen to him, you're to become captain of the ship, and if you're still young, I'm to help you in decisions and managing the crew."

I nodded that I understood. "Proteus says that he's going to let me decide between staying with him and going with you," I said. "He says that if I stay with you, we'll all go free this time. And he says I don't have to decide right now."

Kale nodded. "I understand if you don't want to come with us," he said.

"If I may talk to you privately?" Proteus asked Kale. Kale nodded and unwrapped my arms from around him and placed me on the deck of our…my ship.

"Stay here," he said, and went with Proteus to his chambers on the ship.

I turned from the Prince's ship and looked down into the water, searching for a sign, anything that would tell me that Dad was coming back. A bit of red caught my eye. It was Dad's soaked cap. I resisted the urge to cry as I scooped it up out of the ocean and wrung it out. I held it close as I looked back.

Rat slid down on a rope. Besides Kale, Rat was my best friend on the ship. He was the one who had taught me how to swing around like a monkey in between the different masts without falling. "I hate to be da one to break it to you, girly," he said, "but I don't think our Captain's coming back."

I sighed and turned from him to the waves. Wait…was that…?

Dad's head burst through the surface of the ocean. He coughed and gasped for air. "Dad!" I screamed, and before Rat could stop me, I jumped in and swam to him. "Dad! Dad!" I cried as I swerved to avoid the ships.

"Lani!" he said, laughing as I tried to tackle him with a hug. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked as he saw me crying again.

"I-I thought you were dead," I said.

He laughed. "I'm alive and kicking," he said, gently kicking me under the water to prove it.

Suddenly I felt Kale grab me by the collar of my shirt and swing me up into the ship, along with Dad. He plopped us down onto a coil of rope, soaking wet. The crew was cheering. "Sinbad, you're alive!" someone said.

Jin came over, put his hand on Dad's shoulder, said, "Glad you made it," and stepped back to the others, and said, "Yep, he's alive." I heard the clink of coins as Li grudgingly handed him three gold pieces, which they had no doubt gotten off of a few of Proteus's men.

"Want a hand?" Kale asked, offering his out to us. Dad wrapped his arm around me and took Kale's hand, who pulled us up. "What happened down there?" he asked as Dad as he coughed up sea water from his lungs that I hadn't allowed him to get rid of when I tackled him in the water.

"You wouldn't believe me—" Dad coughed "—if I told you."

"Try me," Kale said.

Dad gasped for another minute, then set me down and said, "All right. Here goes. So I meet Eris…" He pulled off one of his boots and dumped out the water in it. "…The goddess of chaos. She's got a major crush on me, and she invited me back to her place." He put his hands on his waist and looked expectantly at Kale.

Kale looked into Dad's eyes, then laughed and bumped Dad with his shoulder. "Ha! Good one," he said, leaning against the railing. "The goddess of chaos? Oh, I'm writing that down." He went back to the wheel of the ship.

Rat swung down. "So dat's it den? No Book? Now what do we do?" he asked.

"Patience, Rat," Dad said. "It's not like we don't know where it's going." He turned to the rail of the ship and looked out at Proteus's ship. I climbed up on the railing and crouched, balancing on the balls of my feet. I looked at Dad, then out at Proteus, who was standing near the railing of his ship. I waved. I saw him smile and say something. Dad looked at me. "You tell them," he said.

"Follow them!" I called to Kale. "Half speed ahead!" Dad added for good measure. "If you're following an enemy, or a score, always keep a safe distance away until you're ready to attack," he advised. I nodded that I understood, and then swung up to the gaff on the main mast with Rat to help him lower the sails down to half height. We were going to Syracuse.


	2. Chapter 2

Dad stopped us when the King's guards came running at us when we entered the party. "You see," Dad said, looking at Kale, "_this_ is what happens when you use the front entrance."

"Mm-hmm," Kale agreed. He grinned and looked at the guards, who pointed their swords at us.

I spotted Proteus walking towards us. "Hey! Dad, look, it's Proteus!" I said, and pointed to him. Dad nodded.

"What is _he_ doing here?" the old man next to Proteus asked.

"Well, at least he's not out robbing someone," I heard Proteus answer as he placed his hand on the old man's shoulder and pushed past him.

The old man looked around. "That's because everyone worth robbing is here!" he exclaimed.

I looked up at the guard who had his sword aimed at Dad. "I'll bet you ten crowns that you're about to put those swords down," I challenged.

The guard looked at me as Dad grinned. "I'll take that bet," he snarled.

"Guards!" Proteus called. The guard looked back at the prince. "Put away your swords." The guard glared at me and did as the prince commanded. I gave him my most innocent smile and turned to Proteus. He was looking at Dad. "I don't see you for ten years, and now twice in one day?" He chuckled. "You're smothering me," he said, grinning. He held out his hand for Dad.

Dad laughed, gripped his hand, and said, "I knew you'd want to thank me for saving your life." He paused and clapped Proteus on the back. "Again," he added. "And, there's someone else here you need to thank, too." Dad looked down at me. I grinned and waved at Proteus shyly. He smiled at me, then laughed at Dad and said, "You just probably heard that we have free food and wine." He wrapped his arm around Dad's shoulders and placed a hand on my back. "You here that, guys?" Dad asked, disentangling himself from Proteus's arm. "Dinner and drinks…" he rubbed his hands together "…Are on the prince."

Proteus feinted a swoon and laughed again. "Come on," he said, touching Dad's shoulder and pulling me with him, "there's someone I want you two to meet." We followed Proteus, Dad muttering, "Get to work," to our crew.

As we walked past the dinner table, I snatched a wineglass full of red wine and was about to take a sip when Proteus took it from me. "I don't think so, Lani," he said, setting it back down on the table.

"Oh, let the girl have a little, it won't hurt her," Dad said, getting himself his own glass from a man we passed. He swigged down all but a mouthful and handed it to me.

To spite Proteus, I swigged it down like Dad did. It was good, but warm. I wrinkled my nose and said, "Got anything that's a little cooler?"

Proteus shook his head, though I don't know if it was at my question or at Dad's actions, and kept walking. "Sinbad, Lani, I would like the two of you to meet my fiancé, Lady Marina, Ambassador from France." He took a beautiful woman's hand and gently pulled her over to us.

I watched Dad's eyes widen as he looked at Proteus's soon-to-be-wife. "So these are the infamous Sinbad and Lani," she said. "I heard all about you this morning. First you try to rob Proteus, and then you save his life. So which are you two? Thieves, or heroes?" She smiled at me.

Unsure how to respond, I said, "Neither, miss. Just an honest family trying to make a living and saving an old friend." She laughed, thinking it was a joke. Proteus chuckled along with her, but Dad didn't say anything, just stared at her. I nudged him. He grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the exit as Proteus told his fiancé, "Sinbad just wanted to give me an opportunity to thank—" I saw his confused face when he looked away from Marina to where we had been standing. "—him."

We found Spike eating his way across the table, knocking down anything that wasn't directly in front of his muzzle with his large body or his wagging tail. Rat was at the end of the table, talking to a noble. "Months at sea with nothing but pickles and eggs to eat," he was saying, "You don't know what that can do to a man." He had various foods in his arms and over his shoulders as he wagged a finger at the man. When he saw us coming, and Dad's look on his face, he jumped, dropping some of the food he had, and said, "It's almost too easy," he told us. "There's only a handful of guards." His eyes shifted back and forth as he talked to us, like he was nervous. I was nervous, for sure. I had never seen Dad like this. He was gripping my arm way harder than he needed, and the expression on his face was frightening.

"Forget it," Dad said, letting go of my arm. "Let's just get back to the ship." He pushed through Kale and Rat, leaving us all astonished.

"Just like that?" I asked Kale.

"I know," he said. "The Book is almost ours!"

We turned back to look at Proteus and his fiancé. Proteus shrugged and turned back to her, and she just smiled at him.

"Oh," Kale said.

"What? What?" I asked, not wanting to be brushed aside twice in one day.

"Who is she? An old girlfriend?" Rat asked.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," Kale said. He swung me up on one of his broad shoulders. "Let's go."

Jet, our weapons specialist, was just unloading his last weapon when we passed him. "Jet," Kale said as we went by. "Pack it up."

"What? I-I-I just put the—" He sighed, groaned, and gathered up his weapons in his arms and walked out with Spike, who was carrying a huge ham in his mouth.

When we got to the ship, Dad went into his cabin and slammed the door. Usually, I slept in his cabin with him, in my own hammock, but I had a feeling that tonight that wasn't going to happen. I kinda didn't _want_ to be in the same room as him tonight. Dad had never been angry in all the time I had known him, and this…well it scared me. "Can I sleep up in the crow's nest with you Rat?" I asked.

"Sure, girly," he said. "You can take da nest, and I'll sleep on the main topsail yard. Just let me get you a blanket." I nodded sleepily, jumped down off Kale's shoulder, and began to slowly climb up the main mast.

"Lani," Kale said. I turned my head around to look at him. "I think it's best if we don't mention this for a few days, alright?" he asked. I nodded again and went back to climbing. Kale grabbed my ankle and pulled me down into a tight hug. "It's ok," he said. "This is all…complicated. I'm sure Sinbad'll explain all this to you."

"Why can't you?" I asked him, returning the hug.

"It's not my place to tell you," he explained. "When Sinbad wants to tell you, he'll tell you. Now, go to bed." He handed me the blanket Rat had retrieved for me. He wrapped it around my shoulders and hefted me up back onto the mast.

"Night," I said, and went to the crow's nest.

When I reached the crow's nest, instead of laying it on the boards like I usually did on warm nights like this when I slept in the nest, I kept the blanket wrapped around me and curled up into a ball. It didn't take me long to fall asleep.

I awoke the next morning to a bunch of the King's guards arguing on how to get on the boat. Kale or maybe Jet must've pulled our plank up onto the ship last night once everybody was back. I slid down the main mast and landed none too gracefully on the main deck. "Can I help you?" I asked, walking to the railing and balancing on it.

"Uh, yes," one guard stepped forward. I recognized him as the guard who had made a bet with me last night.

"Hey! I know you!" I cried. He looked startled. I think he recognized me. "You stiffed me! Where's my ten crowns?" I glared at him as he turned beet red while his friends looked at him, confused.

"Never mind that!" he snapped. "Let us onto the ship!"

"If I do," I said, pretending to relax and lie down on the railing, one leg dangling off the side. "Will you give me my ten crowns that you rightfully owe me?"

"No!" he snapped again. "Let us on! We're here on official business!"

I faked a yawn and smiled lazily at them. "I'm sorry, gentlemen," I said. "But you must excuse me. You see, you awoke me from my sleep, and I would like to get back to it." I rose, mocked a curtsy, and jumped off the railing and back onto the deck.

"Wait!" the guard called. I slowly turned around. "I'll give you your ten crowns," he growled.

"What was that?" I asked. "I couldn't hear you."

"I'll give you the ten crowns!" he hollered. "Now let us on!"

I tsked at him. "No need to be discourteous," I said as I slowly dragged the plank out. "I'm being nice, here. Now, if you hadn't woken me, you'd probably have to deal with my dad, or possibly Kale. Now, my dad, you wouldn't want to deal with him," I continued as I slid the plank to the deck painfully slowly. "He was right pissed off last night, and I know for a fact his feelings tend to drift from night into the next morning. If it were him you had to deal with, you wouldn't be coming on this ship, nuh-uh, not one measly chance." I pretended to accidentally drop the board, and then pull it back to regain the balance. "And Kale, well, he would've woken my dad to see if he wanted you on the ship, and I have a feeling the answer would be 'no.' Ah, here we are," I said, and secured the plank. "Now, about my ten crowns?"

The guards came charging up the plank. Fortunately for me, it was so thin that they had to come up one at a time, so I could easily stop the man in front. "You don't get on here till I get my crowns," I said, pulling out one of my knives. "At least, not with all your fingers." I spun my knife on my finger, making it wink in the sunrise light. I raised an eyebrow.

The lead guard sighed. "Ten crowns, as promised, lad," he said, and pulled out his purse and dropped the crowns in my waiting palm. I smiled as they clinked, one at a time.

"And for my service?" I asked, still holding out my hand.

"I already gave you _ten crowns_! What more could you want?" he cried.

"Another two crowns would do nicely," I said. Grumbling, the man pulled out his purse again. "Or," I said, making him pause, "your word that you will not harm a hair on anyone's head here. I know official business for the crown means you're here to arrest one of our crew, and I'll tell you right now, no one on this ship did anything. I was up in the crow's nest last night, and no one left the ship. If they had, I would've known and had seen them. So, which will it be? Your word that you'll take only the person you need without hurting anyone else here, or another two crowns from your personal purse? I don't think the crown reimburses you for gambling and paying off kids, and twelve crowns is a lot of money."

The guard looked me up and down, as if sizing me up for a fight. "All right," he said. "You have my word that we will not harm anyone here, including the person we're here to arrest, unless he causes us to use force and we have to subdue him." He smirked, obviously thinking he had outwitted me. I wasn't easily fooled.

He stepped forward, and I aimed my knife at his heart. He froze, knowing full well that one good thrust would send him to the Underworld. "That wasn't our deal," I hissed. "It was, 'you wouldn't harm a single person on this ship, not even the person you are arresting.' Do we have a deal?"

He nodded. "Yes," he squeaked.

"Good." I took my knife away from his heart. He breathed in relief. I shook my head. Honestly, _this_ was what the King's guard was like? They needed to hire some pirates, because these wimps weren't going to get them anywhere.

"Take us to your captain," the guard ordered, his voice confident again since I wasn't holding a knife to his fleshy parts. I sighed and took them over to the door that lead to Dad's quarters.

"Wait here," I said, and went down into the Captain's cabin. I opened the door as quietly as I could, and opened it so there was only enough room for me to squeeze by. I closed the door behind me and made my way to Dad's bunk. He was on his side, with his back to me. I gently put my hand on him and shook him a little. "Dad," I said softly.

"I'm awake," he said. I flinched back, unsure if he was still angry. His voice still had that underlying tone of warning. He sat up and stretched. "What's wrong?" he asked, reaching for his shirt. All he was wearing were his pants.

"There are guards here," I said. "They're here to arrest someone. I don't know who and I don't know why." I handed Dad his cap.

"Really? Is one of them the guard you bet ten crowns with last night?" He grinned and pulled his cap on his head.

I grinned back and said, "Yep. I told him I'd let him on the ship if he gave me the ten crowns. He said no at first, but when I turned to leave, he said he'd do it. Also, I bargained with him. I made him promise not to hurt anyone on this ship, not even the person they were here to arrest. I told him it was either that or another two crowns." I pulled out the money and showed it to him.

Dad laughed and ruffled my short hair. "That's my girl," he said. "Just like I taught you, milk as much as you can from someone." He sobered. "Let's go see what they want." He lead me back out to the main deck.

The guards were waiting for us. As soon as Dad was out the door, they jumped on him and put some handcuffs on him. "Sinbad, you are under arrest for stealing the Book of Peace," one said. My jaw dropped as another two guards grabbed me and put some smaller cuffs on me. "Kailani, you are also under arrest for conspiring with Sinbad, your adoptive father," the guard who paid me ten crowns said.

"What?" Dad cried, outraged. "We didn't do anything!" They began to drag us off the ship. While I struggled against the men's arms, I saw Kale and the others from our crew yawning and coming out from the bulkhead, where they slept. When they saw us being dragged away, they charged over.

"Don't!" I shouted at them. "You'll just make this worse!" _Though, I don't see how things _can_ get worse,_ I thought grimly as I allowed the guards to lead me off the ship.


	3. Chapter 3

After dragging us through the streets, the guards finally threw us in the top of a tower, and none to gently, either. I rolled to my feet and looked at the guards, ready to fight with my hands tied. "Sinbad! Lani!" I heard someone say. I turned to see the prince walking out from the shadows.

"Proteus!" Dad said. "It's about time!" He straightened and so did I.

"Do you two realize how serious this is?" Proteus asked us, walking forward and glaring.

"Do _you_ realize how many times I've heard that this morning?" I asked him.

"You two have betrayed Syracuse!" the prince exclaimed.

Dad groaned. "Aw, not you too." He threw his hands up dramatically and shook his head as he talked.

"Stealing the Book of Peace when you _knew_ how much it meant to us!" Proteus continued, truly angered. He hadn't dropped the glare.

"Proteus, this is how it works: first, we actually commit a crime, and _then_ you get to blame us for it!" Dad explained.

"Then how do you explain these?" Proteus asked, pulling out two knives. And not just two knives. _Our_ knives. One was mine, and another was Dad's. I could tell by looking at the hilt. They both had a symbol on them that meant they were ours, but on mine, the hilt was wrapped in tight wire, instead of leather. My jaw fell for the second time that morning.

"But I have my knives!" I exclaimed. I reached around with my bound hands and pulled them out, one at a time. "See? I only have the four!"

Proteus ignored me. Dad was quiet. Suddenly his eyes widened. "Eris," he growled, his face dark again.

"What?" Proteus asked as I groaned, "Oh, no, not this again."

"Eris! She framed us," Dad said confidently.

"Sinbad, listen to yourself," Proteus said, walking past us.

"He's got a point, Dad," I said.

"Trust me you two, the Book is in Tartarus," Dad said. "Talk to your father, Proteus. Tell him—"

"This is beyond my father!" Proteus exclaimed. "The Ambassadors are convening now for your trial."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Trial? We didn't do it! At least, Lani didn't," Dad said.

"Dad!" I cried, knowing where he was going with this.

"So you admit you did it, but not Lani?" Proteus asked.

"I didn't do it either. I already told you, it was Eris. But if you need someone to blame, don't blame Lani. She's too young to be locked up or be sent to work in the mines," Dad said. "Look, we left the Book on your ship and that's the last we saw of it! You were there. You know the truth. You know me!"

"Do I?" Proteus asked. "I knew a kid." He took a quick breath. "Who are you now, Sinbad?"

Silence. Proteus and Dad just stared at each other, as if they momentarily forgot I was there, too.

"Look me in the eye," the prince said, "and tell me: did you steal the Book?"

Dad looked him in the eye dead on, without wavering. "No," Dad said.

Proteus said nothing, just turned and left.

As soon as Proteus was out the door, the guards came in to escort us to the trial. "Don't talk unless you're spoken to," Dad said. "Let me handle this."

I nodded. I was too scared to do anything, anyway. The sea monster Cetus, cutthroat pirates, sneaking around and stealing priceless gems? No problem. Talking to the Delegation of the Twelve Cities to be convicted for a crime I didn't commit? I get the knee-shakes. _Real tough, Lani,_ I told myself as we left the tower. _Real tough. Sinbad would be proud._

* * *

><p>"We've heard enough of your lies," Proteus's father, King Dymus, said. "Sinbad, Kailani, for the last time, give us the Book!"<p>

"How many times do I have to say it?" Dad groaned. "We don't have it."

"Very well then," the Head Ambassador said, rising. The other Ambassadors rose with him. "The Delegation of the Twelve Cities finds the two of you guilty of treason, and we sentence you to die. Take them away."

"Come on! This is a joke, right?" Dad cried as they dragged us away. "How can you kill a child?"

"Are you people all blind and deaf?" I shrieked, fighting the guards. "We didn't do it!" Dad and I both struggled, trying to get away from the guards.

"Stop!" I heard someone call. I turned to see the crowd parting to let Prince Proteus through. "I demand the right of substitution!" The crowd gasped as my jaw dropped again. "Take me in their place."

"No!" Proteus's father cried.

I stared at Proteus, astonished. He turned to me and smiled sadly, then locked eyes with Dad for a brief second, then went back to the Delegation. I saw Marina on the end of the table, staring at Proteus is shock and sadness.

"Sinbad says that Eris took the Book," Proteus continued, motioning to us. "And I believe him." Dad smirked at me. "Let him go to Tartarus and recover the Book," Proteus finished.

That statement wiped the smirk off Dad's face. "What?" he asked Proteus, as if he hadn't heard right. "What are you doing?" he hissed, breaking away from the guards and capturing Proteus's attention.

"You claim that Eris stole the Book. Steal it back," Proteus said simply. "You're good at that."

"Hey, look, I will _not_ be responsible for your life," Dad replied.

"You would do the same for me," Proteus said.

"No, I wouldn't," Dad said.

"I would," I said, coming up behind them.

"Shut up, Lani," Dad growled. "This doesn't concern you."

"The hell it doesn't!" I hissed.

"If Sinbad and Lani are allowed to leave the city, they'll never come back!" King Dymus cried. "Son," he continued, walking to us. "Listen to reason—"

"No Father, you listen," Proteus said. He pushed Dad and me back and stepped forward. "Sinbad and Lani either stole the Book, or their telling the truth, and it's in Tartarus." He paused, looking around. "Either way, they're our only hope."

I saw Marina whispering to the Head Ambassador. Apparently, she failed at convincing him in whatever she wanted, because he shook his head and held up a hand to her, and she turned away, looking discouraged. "Proteus," the Head said, "you realize that if Sinbad and Kailani do not return, _you_ will be put to death in their place."

Proteus took a deep breath, looking at Dad first, then me, then Dad again. "I understand," he said clearly.

I saw the Head Ambassador sigh, and then he said, "So be it." I saw Marina look away from us. "Sinbad and Kailani have ten days to return the Book."

Proteus's father sighed heavily. "Release them," he commanded. The guards took off our cuffs. I rubbed my wrists. They were red from where the cuffs had been rubbing them all day. I looked up to see the guards locking Dad's cuffs on Proteus's wrists and leading him away. I moved to Dad, who locked eyes with the prince just before the guards walked him away to the cells. They stopped at the end of the table, where Marina was waiting to see Proteus. They exchanged looks, the Proteus turned back to us. Dad looked at the floor.

"Oh, and Sinbad, Lani," he said in a slight joking tone. Dad looked up. "Don't be late." The guards lead him away and we watched his retreating back. Dad sighed, then grabbed my arm and led me back to our boat.

* * *

><p>Before we set off, while Dad and Kale were haggling with the king and a few members of the Delegation over supplies for the trip, I was sitting on the railing, waiting for them to hurry up, when I heard a "Psst! Pst! Lani! Over here!" I turned to see Marina peeking out from behind a barrel a few yards down the port. I snuck over to her.<p>

"What do you want?" I hissed, casting glances back at Dad and the others. They were still arguing, and didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.

"Passage on your ship," she answered, pulling out a small leather pouch.

"If you want to come, why didn't you just ask Dad?" I asked, eyeing the pouch.

"Because I doubt Sinbad will let me on," she said. She opened the pouch and took my hand, flipping it so my palm was up and open. She poured the contents of the pouch into it, which happened to be a bunch of gems. Sapphires, rubies, emeralds, amethysts, even diamonds.

"The big sapphire is for you," she said, digging it out of my palm and placing it in my other hand. "The rest is for the others in your crew. There should be enough so that everyone gets one gem."

I carefully counted the gems and looked them over quickly. I held a small fortune in my hand. "This should be enough for the crew to keep quiet," I told her. "But Dad's bound to find out. How do you expect to deal with him?"

She pulled another pouch out and opened it for me to see. It contained some more small gems and a huge diamond. "These are all personally for your father," she said, shutting the bag. I raised an eyebrow. "And you think that _one_ gem will do for me?" I asked her.

She snorted. "Don't worry," she said, pulling out yet another pouch full of small gems. "All I want you to do is to sneak me onto your ship and hide me in your father's cabin. When he finds me there, you come in and pretend that you didn't know I was on. I'll convince your father with this—" She dangled the bigger pouch that held Dad's gems in front of me "—and 'convince' you with the other pouch. Once we get him on track to Tartarus, do what you will with the gems. Consider the sapphire as me prepaying you, and the bag as insurance."

I considered it. "Wait here," I said, dumping the crew's gems back into the pouch and shoving my sapphire into my pocket. I ran back onto the deck. Dad and the others who were arguing didn't notice; they were still wrapped up in supplies.

"Rat!" I called softly, climbing up the foremast. "Rat!"

He swung down. "What's up, girly?" he asked. "Other than us, of course."

I handed him a gem and gave him the bag. "We're going to have a stowaway," I told him. "We're sneaking Marina onto the ship. Give each of the crew one gem, but save one for Kale. I'll give his to him. And tell them to keep quiet about it. Get Jet and Luca, and have them help me get Marina onboard and into Dad's quarters."

Rat raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like fun," he said. "But what happens when we get caught?"

"We won't," I said. I told him Marina's plan. He nodded and swung away. I scrambled down and went to Marina.

"Everything's set," I told her. "We'll get you on the ship."


	4. Chapter 4

We didn't leave Syracuse until just after the sun had set. Rat and I were up in the crow's nest. Rat lit a torch so we could light the lanterns on the ship. He used the already lit torch to light another, and handed me one. I lit the lantern in the nest, then grabbed a rope and swung off in the opposite direction he went. I lit lanterns as I swung by them, turning this way and that to go the right way. As I came up to Kale, he held up another lantern for me to light. I lit it, then turned and jumped onto the quarterdeck next to him. I blew out my torch and turned to look at Dad, who was standing off to the side, looking at the sky.

"Hmm," Kale said, picking up the lantern. He walked over next to Dad and asked him, "So. Any idea on how we get to Tartarus?"

"Tartarus?" Dad asked. He chuckled, nervously I thought, and shook his head. "People get killed in Tartarus," he said.

"So where are we going?" I asked slyly, tapping the map Kale laid out on the desk.

Dad slapped another map down on top of it. "Fiji!" he said.

Kale crossed his arms and I looked at Dad. "Fiji?" Kale said. Dad put his hands on his hips. "This time of year?"

"Think of the beaches," Dad said, closing his eyes and putting his hands behind his head.

"Oh, beautiful," I said, slapping at an annoying bug. "If you like mosquitoes."

"Think of the sun," Dad countered.

"It's monsoon season," Kale told him.

"Ah, then the women," Dad said.

Kale put a hand on his shoulder. "They're cannibals, Sinbad," he said.

"Exactly!" Dad said.

Kale and I both groaned. "Come on, Kale! Lani!" Dad said.

"He's your friend!" Kale accused.

Dad didn't know what to say for a second. "Listen to you! You sound like my mother," he finally retorted. "Proteus will be fine."

"You're sure about that?" I asked, crossing my arms and glaring at him. Kale nodded assent.

"You, shut up," Dad said, pointing to me. He looked at Kale. "And you and I both know that Dymus is not going to let them execute his only son."

"Put yourself in Dymus's shoes for a second," Kale said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "How would you like it if Lani put her neck on the line for a friend of hers that you knew was going to run away, and she would die in her friend's place?"

"We're not running away!" Dad exclaimed, missing the point entirely, I thought. "We're retiring! We—we don't need another score! We've got enough. Now, set a course for Fiji." He turned and started for our cabin. "Gentlemen," he called to the crew, "we're going to Fiji!" The crew cheered.

As soon as Dad had his door shut, I said to Kale "Set a course for Tartarus."

"You know how the get there?" he asked.

"Nope," I said, going down to the cabin. I flipped my newest gem, the sparkling sapphire, in the air. "I plan to help a certain someone bribe Dad into getting us to it, though." Kale chuckled, knowing who that "certain someone" was. He took out his own amethyst, examining it.

I opened the door to see Marina examining a blue bra Dad had collected, with Dad sneaking up behind her. "Good guess," I heard Dad tell her. Marina jumped and spun around to see Dad. She hid the bra behind back and flicked it away.

"What do you think you're doing here?" Dad demanded of her.

"I'm here to make sure you get the Book of Peace," she told him. "Or bring back your dead body if you fail." She crossed her arms.

Dad smirked and put his hands on his hips. "Really?" Dad asked. "And, how are you going to pull that off?" He leaned against his desk by the one window. I dove behind the pillar in our room, deciding now was not the time to reveal myself.

"By whatever means necessary," she said, uncrossing her arms and making fists.

"Did you bring a crew?" Dad asked.

"No," she answered.

"You know how to get to Tartarus?"

"Um…no."

"Can you navigate on your own?"

"Yes!" she said confidently.

"Well, good!" Dad said, standing up. "Then I'll dump your butt, in a rowboat, and you can paddle all the way back to Syracuse, 'cause we're going to Fiji." He flopped down on his bed and pushed his cap over his eyes by putting his hands behind his head.

"Fiji?" Marina asked, looking at him.

"Yep," Dad replied.

Marina walked around the small arch and leaned against it. "Just as I thought," she said.

Dad paused. He lifted his cap off of his eyes. "What?" he asked, looking at her.

"Sinbad," Marina said, "you're not a very complicated guy." She walked towards his bed and leaned her hands on the edge. "All someone has to do is imagine the most gutless course of action and you're bound to take it." She smirked at him. I have to admit, she was good at this.

"Hey!" Dad snapped at her. "This is not my problem. I did not. Steal. The Book." He leaned back again and stared contentedly and the ceiling.

"You're really not going to lose any sleep over this?" Marina asked, leaning in again.

"Not a wink," Dad said, and crossed his arms. He rolled over onto his side so his back was to us.

"Because I would be tossing and turning, knowing that I'm alive," she paused, leaning over Dad, "because I let my friend die."

"Argh!" Dad snapped. "I'm not responsible for this mess!" He rolled off the bed and followed Marina to the pole. I turned so they wouldn't see me. "I didn't ask Proteus to put his neck on the line for me and my daughter!"

Marina spun on him. "Look, clearly I can't appeal to your honor," she said. "But I have other ways of convincing you."

I saw Dad's eyes flick to her boobs, then back to her face. "Really?" he asked, all the fire gone out of him. "Uh, just how do you expect to do that?"

"Yes," I said, stepping out from behind the pillar. "Just how _do_ you expect to do that?"

"Lani!" Dad exclaimed. "How long have you been there?"

"About the whole conversation," I answered. "I just want to know what she has planned for convincing you from not dumping her ass in a rowboat." I walked over and stood by Dad, arms crossed.

"By speaking your language," she said, leaning into Dad, who leaned back. She pulled out the diamond she showed me earlier and held it in front of Dad's face. He took it from her and examined it. "Keep talking," he said, tucking it in his palm.

Marina pulled his hand up like she had with me and dumped Dad's pouch full of gems into his hand. Dad jiggled them for a second, and then looked at her, then back to the gems. I said, "And me?"

Marina handed me my own sack. I opened it and poured it into my hand. I was similar to Dad's, but with a few less gems. Fine by me. Dad and I exchanged glances.

"Yep," I said, pocketing my gems.

"This'll do," Dad said. Marina smirked in satisfaction. "But, not for first class," Dad finished, an evil grin on his face. Marina's smirk turned into a look of unsure.

Dad picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. He dragged her out of his cabin. "As you can see," he said, fighting and dodging her blows, "we're well equipped to satisfy the most discerning of royal taste." He ducked under a flying arm as I followed, cackling.

"We have excellent ocean views—" he pulled his head away from her hand as she yanked it backwards, then kicked open the forecastle door, where we kept our food and where Spike slept. "—Luxurious living quarters—" he dumped her on her butt on the floor "—with three gourmet meals a day: pickles, eggs, and pickles!" Spike pushed past me down into his room. He barked, spraying drool everywhere. "Oh hey, Spike, there you are," Dad said, patting the dog on the head. He knelt down and said to Marina, "I'd like to introduce you to your new bunkmate—well, you're his new bunkmate, as it's actually his bunk." He squeezed the dog to his face, then let him go and wiped the drool from his cheek. Spike ran over and tackled Marina, licking her face. "We do hope you have a pleasant stay aboard the _Chimera_. Oh, and if he starts humping your leg, that means he likes you."

Marina shoved Spike off of her and said, "If you think I'm—" Dad shut the door in her face and locked it.

"How did she even get on the ship?" Dad asked me, eyeing his diamond. He looked down and caught me testing to see if my big sapphire, which he hadn't seen, was real. I chuckled nervously. He frowned, and then looked up and the crew, most of who were doing the same thing I was. They saw Dad looking, and lamely tried to hide their loot.

Dad frowned, shook his head, and said, "Gentlemen! We have a new course." He stomped past the three men in front of us. "We're going to Tartarus." I followed behind him.

"What?" Jin asked. "What happened to Fiji?"

"What, no fun?" his twin, Li, asked.

"No beaches?" Jin asked.

As Dad stomped toward Kale and the quarterdeck, a flowered necklace fell on his head. "Rat!" he snapped, looking up.

"Sorry, Captain!" Rat called down, another necklace around his neck, and ukulele in one hand. He swung down and hung upside down in front of us. "But, did you say Tartarus?"

"That's right," Dad said.

"Will that be the same Tartarus from which no sailor ever returns?" Rat asked, swinging in front of us as we kept walking to Kale. Dad pushed him over the side, but Rat swung back in front of us again.

"The Tartarus of lost souls, where they grind your bones and pickle your spleen and—"

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the rope Rat was swinging on. "No, Rat," I said sarcastically. "This is the _nice_ Tartarus, with lots of beaches and drinks, you know, with little umbrellas? And plenty of hot women for you perverted sailors?" Rat nodded enthusiastically and stayed there, upside down, cursing us in his native tongue.

"That better not be what I think it is," Dad said, glaring at Rat. "You know I forbid you men from cussing like that in front of Lani."

"Sorry, sorry," Rat said, swinging back up, muttering to himself about some woman.

Dad and I walked to Kale. I swung up onto the railing in front of the wheel and sat facing them, while Dad stood on the left. "I'm only doing this for the money," Dad justified, crossing his arms.

"Right," Kale said, giving me a knowing glance. I winked. "So how do we get there?" he asked, standing up straight and gripping the wheel.

"That star's our point," Dad said, pointing to the one he had been looking at earlier. Kale expertly turned the wheel so the bowsprit was pointing directly at it. The men adjusted the sails as needed.

"Let's turn in, Lani. It's late," Dad said, picking me up as I yawned.

"I can walk by myself," I protested, weakly shoving him.

"Yes, but I insist," he said, wrapping my arms around his neck. He carried me down to our cabin and placed me in my hammock. The last thing I remember before falling asleep was him kissing me on the top of my head, like he had almost every night of my life with him.

* * *

><p>That night, I dreamed I was in Tartarus. I wasn't sure how I knew I was in Tartarus, I just knew. I saw a beautiful woman holding a champagne glass that seemed full of seawater with what looked like a model of the <em>Chimera<em> floating in the middle. The beautiful woman sighed. "Well, it seems our prince isn't going to run away. Let's provide some mood music," she said, looking at some creatures that I realized were with her. They seemed to be made of inky black sky with stars dotting them everywhere.

The woman licked her finger and swirled it around the edge of the glass on the inside, just barely touching the water. Two lights began to glow just below the surface. I thought I could faintly hear someone singing, but I wasn't sure. The creatures chattered as she did.

The woman suddenly turned around and looked directly at me. "Well, well, well," she said. "It's looks like we have a guest." She smiled evilly, and then pointed a finger at me. "Tell your precious daddy that this is hopeless. He's not going to get the Book from me." There was a bright flash, and I woke up.


	5. Chapter 5

I woke the next morning from my dream to Dad shaking me and saying, "Lani, wake up. Wake up." I rubbed my eyes and looked up at Dad. "Come on, hurry. We've got to prepare the ship."

"Why?" I asked sleepily. "What's going on?"

"We're nearing the Dragon's Teeth," Dad said, handing me two eggs and a pickle.

I snapped awake. The Dragon's Teeth was one of the most dangerous rock outcroppings in the seven seas. They were said to be taller than the tallest mast on any ship, with rocks knitted close together at the top, and many more just waiting for a ship to run into them or scrape holes into the bottom of ships. There was no way to sail around them. You could only go through them, and few ships had made it out.

"I don't think I'm very hungry," I said, handing back the pickle and eggs. "I think I'm going to help Rat with the lines."

"Eat the pickle, at least," Dad said. I grimaced but choked it down.

"Happy?" I asked when I was done.

"Yes. Now let's go." Dad turned and left to direct the crew.

I sighed and followed him. Today was not going to be a good day.

* * *

><p>Marina didn't emerge from her quarters on the ship until we were almost to the Dragon's Teeth. She actually had to kick down the locked door to do it, too. The door falling was what caught my attention from preparing the forestaysail. Once she had the door down, she turned back inside and said, "Oh, come on, you look great." Spike reluctantly came out from his hiding place. He had a pink bow on his head. I nearly slipped from my position on the forestaysail, I was laughing so hard. He let out a small whine, indicating he clearly didn't like his new accessory. Dad and I had fought with him to get a collar on him before, so how this woman got a <em>bow<em> on him was beyond me.

As soon as Marina got him to come out, she took off onto the deck to survey what we were doing. Spike shook off the bow and quickly ran to me, seeking comfort. I patted his head and finished fitting the forestaysail for the journey ahead. Rat had already gotten the two topsails and the foresail, so we headed to the mainsail to finish up. Rat was to take care of the gaff while I handled the main boom. When I looked up to see if Rat was at the gaff, though, I discovered he wasn't there. I looked around for my partner in crime, to find him talking to Marina. I swung over to hear what he was saying.

"Indeed senorita," he was telling her. "Only the most foolish of captains"—he yelled the foolish captains part at Dad—"would dare to send a ship through this."

"Rat!" I called. "We've got a job to do, so get to it!"

"Si, si," he called to me. "I'm on my way! Excuse me, senorita." He swung back up and went to the gaff. I shook my head and went back to the main boom.

As I readied the main boom, I watched Marina climb the steps up to the quarterdeck, where Dad was standing at the wheel. Kale was off somewhere, helping the crew prepare the ship, so Dad had control of the wheel. "Are you sure you know what you're—" she began.

"Yes, we've done this kind of thing before. No, there is no other way, and yes, you have my permission to stand there quietly and get a free lesson in sailing," Dad cut her off, answering her questions before she even said them.

"You know—" she began again.

"Besides," he cut her off again, "a ship is no place for a woman."

"What?" I screeched, flipping down on the railing in front of the wheel and staring hard at Dad. "'No place for a woman?' What about me, you dung-filled sack of—"

"You're a girl, there's a difference," Dad explained. "Girls are young and full of energy that's good for a ship, if they start out on one young enough. Women do nothing but nag and ask foolish questions." Marina glared at him.

"I'll be a woman someday," I said.

"But you started out on a ship as a girl, so you won't be a problem," Dad said. "Jin! Easy on the main!" he instructed one of the crew.

"Aye, captain!" Jin called back.

"Lani, get back up with Rat on the foremast," Dad said. "We need you two to as lookouts."

Still fuming over his comment, I did as he said and went to Rat, who was looking out at the waters. "I'll take far, you take near," I told him as I landed neatly on the flat boards we had rigged under the foretopsail. Rat nodded and trained his eyes on the water a few yards ahead of the ship. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and trained my own eyes on the waters farther out. A distracted lookout was dangerous in the Dragon's Teeth.

It was kind of dark in the Dragon's Teeth. The men were all on edge, and so was I. "Steady as she goes," Dad called, trying to keep us focused on the task at hand and not our own fears.

I scanned the waters. "Rocks!" Rat called. "Off the starboard bow!"

I held on to the foremast as the ship turned port. I looked up from the water, seeing two possible ways we could go. The one on the starboard side was blocked with boulders and some ruined boats, while the one on the port side was clear. I shuddered at the thought of the _Chimera_ in one of the boats place. "Go port!" I hollered for Dad to hear. I held on again as the ship turned port again.

"Steady," Dad said again. He didn't have to yell anymore, it was so quiet. The only sounds were the creak of the boards and the rustle of the sails.

I dared a glance at the crew. They were all gaping at the other crashed ships that lined the Dragon's Teeth. I shuddered again and went back to looking at the water.

I heard something, something that sounded like…someone singing. I looked around, trying to identify the source.

"What is that sound?" I heard Marina say.

"Sh," Dad shushed. He leaned against the wheel, like he was enjoying some sort of dream. Marina didn't notice because she was looking out at the water.

"Do you here that?" I asked Rat, turning to look at him, only to discover he was gone. I looked about frantically, spotting him on the forecastle deck, swooning in his ropes. I sighed in relief that Rat was ok and swung down to Marina.

"Sinbad, I—" she began. Spike barked, turning our attention to him. He had his paws against the railing and he was barking at the water. Marina ran over to him and I swung around to them. We looked into the water to see

"Sirens," Marina breathed. The sirens jumped up and flashed evil grins at us.

Suddenly I remembered my dream. I recognized the singing as the sound I had heard in my dream. And the beautiful woman had mentioned mood music, then she swirled her finger around the glass…She had summoned the sirens! _Oh, gods,_ I thought, gulping. _If she summoned the sirens, that means…that means she was Eris!_

I turned back to look at the crew. They were swooning to the music of the sirens singing, trying to reach out and touch them.

Marina and I ran to Dad. "Sinbad," she said, touching him on the shoulder.

The ship hit some rocks on the starboard side, knocking us to port. Marina was thrown into Dad. I ran over and righted the ship, then grabbed Dad on the shoulders and shook him, crying, "Dad! Snap out of it!"

"Sinbad!" Marina said, waving her hand in front of Dad's face. "Jin?" she called, turning to the crew, who were stumbling, love-struck, around the deck. "Li?" We watched in scared tension as Lee threw up his arms, as if to welcome someone, and Jin, his twin brother, kiss Lee's armpit.

"Come and get it, ladies!" another of the crew, Luca, said, taking off his shirt to reveal his ribs and distended belly.

"Kale?" I called helplessly to the first mate.

"Come with me," he said to no one in particular as he leaned against the railing of the ship, running his hand through his nonexistent hair. "We'll speak of love." He had an idiotic grin on his face.

I watched Rat swing around on a rope, blowing kisses into the air. He wasn't looking where he was going, so he smacked into the foremast and began to kiss it, wrapping his arms and legs around it.

I grimaced and turned back to Dad again. "Who's bad?" he asked dreamily. "Sinbad."

"Ugh! Men!" Marina exclaimed, disgusted.

I ran to the front of the ship and looked out past the bowsprit. "Marina! Rocks! Dead ahead!" I called.

She yanked Dad's feet out from under him, which made the ship turn sharply to the starboard side, but we turned early enough to avoid the rocks.

"Whoa!" I cried, grabbing the bowsprit so I wouldn't fall overboard. I looked sharply at her and yelled at her, "Don't do that again!"

"Sorry!" she called, grabbing the wheel and straightening the ship.

A bunch of sirens jumped up from the water and sang some more to the crew. They opened their arms and stumbled to the singing devils. Thinking quickly, I grabbed an extra rope and tied a loop on the end. I swung it over my head, and then threw it with all my might to grab the crew. I only made it around three of them, but I yanked back and pulled them to the foremast. I used the remaining rope to tie them to the foremast, making sure my knots were secure. I looked back to see Spike with a rope, rounding up the rest of the crew. I ran over and took the rope from the dog and tied the others to the main mast, once again checking to make sure they were secure.

"Amor! Amor!" I heard Rat call, and looked up to see him swinging down from the main topsail yard to the bowsprit. He leaned out, holding the end of the rope with one hand, which was slipping further and further out of his grip as he leaned to the siren seducing him.

"Rat!" Marina shouted. I watched as she picked up Dad and had him lean on the wheel again to keep the ship steady. She grabbed a rope with a hook on the end and threw it up. I saw her plan and scrambled up and caught the hook. I threw it up further, and made it go over the bottom yard of the main topsail. I heard a splash, and saw that Rat wasn't where he was a few seconds ago.

"Rat!" I screamed, and grabbed the hook as it came down. I grabbed the other end of the rope that Marina threw to me and swung around and over the water, where I could make out Rat's head just below the surface. He was kissing a siren. I hooked him by the back of his pants and pulled him out of the water and back to the ship. I dropped to the deck and yanked him up and out of reach of any sirens or ropes he could use to escape the hook and go back to the sirens. I tied the rope around the main boom, making sure it held.

I looked and saws Marina back at the wheel, with Dad stumbling around the main deck. A siren splashed up onto the deck, looked at Dad, and made her way to the edge of the ship. Dad went after her, trying to kiss her. "Spike!" I called.

"Get Sinbad!" Marina finished for me.

Spike barked and leaped at Dad, who was leaning over the ship. He bit Dad in the butt and pulled him back on the ship. "Ow!" Dad shouted, and I heard cloth rip.

Dad stumbled around and into the arms of another siren near the bowsprit. He sighed happily as she began to kiss his face.

A sudden jolt brought me to the side of the deck. I looked over the railing to see us on the edge of a giant waterfall. I held onto the railing as we went over the side, grabbing Spike by the scruff of his neck to keep him from falling off.

Marina gasped as she fell past me. "Marina!" I yelled. She fell…right into the arms of my Dad, who had his lips puckered to kiss a siren. Marina splashed through the siren, so Dad kissed her. I watched in trepidation as Dad wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hungrily. She punched him in the face to make him stop.

The waterfall ended, and I let Spike go and got up. Shakily, I ran to the wheel and placed my feet in between the spokes. I gripped the handles and balanced myself so I could look over the wheel. I gasped as a loose ship crashed into rocks in a waterfall that went up. I froze, unsure what to do.

Unexpectedly, Marina was there, pulling me off the wheel and looking around for a way out. I just lay on the deck, waiting for it to come, waiting for death. I closed my eyes so I wouldn't see it coming.

"Spike! The blades!" I heard Marina call. _What good will those do, other than chop us up into tiny bits?_ I thought.

I felt the ship swing to port and felt myself sliding across the deck. I smacked into something and held it tightly as I felt the ship tilt upward. _Oh, gods, here it comes,_ I thought, bracing myself.

But it didn't come. Against my will, I opened my eyes to see the ship flying through the air, and away from the Dragon's Teeth. I gasped and looked down over the railing. The sea was rushing up to us. I braced myself for impact.

We crashed into the water, sending waves as tall as the main mast up on either side of the deck. The water came back down and drenched us.

I stood up shakily and let out a breath of relief. I looked at Marina. She let out a sigh of relief also and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "Gods," I told her. "That was horrible."

She nodded and took the wheel again. We looked out at the crew, who were groaning and untying themselves from the masts. I watched in relief as Dad pulled himself up and looked around. Spike went over and stood by his side. He looked at the dog, then back at us at the wheel. I waved and Marina grinned. He stared at us for a minute, the rolled his eyes and let out a breath.

I looked at the crew again. One was going, "Oh my precious," to a fish, nuzzling its lips. Another smacked it out of his hands and said, "Wake up you idiot!"

"What happened?" Jin asked.

"Sinbad saved us!" Li said.

"No," Rat said, swinging by. "Marina and Lani."

"Marina and Lani saved us?" they asked in wonder.

Dad made his way through the crew, Spike leading him up to Marina and me.

"There's my little hero!" Marina told Spike as the dog made his way up the stairs and over to her, giving her a doggy smile and drooling. She patted his head. "You were so brave," she told the dog. "Yes you were, yeah! Good dog." She scratched his neck, avoiding the drool as Spike panted happily.

"Very good dog, Spike," I said, jumping down next to the dog and giving him a back rub. I scratched behind his ears. His tail thumped faster on the deck, obviously enjoying the attention.

Dad cleared his throat. Marina looked up. "Still think a ship's no place for a woman?" she asked, cutting off any speech he was about to make.

Dad's jaw opened, then closed like a fish. He glared at her. "A-Absolutely!" he said, stepping toward her intimidatingly. Spike rolled his eyes and gave a doggy snort. I giggled and whispered to him, "I agree." I stood up and leaned back, waiting for this storm to blow over.

"I mean, look at my ship!" Dad exclaimed, gesturing angrily. "This railing was hand-carved mahogany! And here! These moldings came all the way from Damascus! Do you have any idea what I went through to steal these?" He _hmph_ed to himself. "That's exactly why women shouldn't drive." He turned around, confident he had won.

Marina had other ideas. "Are you crazy?" she asked. "I saved your life!"

"Oh, I would've been fine," Dad said, making her move from the wheel and taking over. "I always am."

"Because others are around to save your ass," I muttered.

They didn't seem to hear. "Right," Marina gave in haughtily. She stormed down to her quarters. The crew moved aside to let her through the crowd they had formed while she and Dad had argued.

Dad looked over the edge to survey the damage some more. "And you chipped the paint! Right here, look at it!" he cried as she opened the doors. "That's more than a little scratch."

She whirled around. She grunted in angered disgust and slammed the doors as she retreated into her room.

The crew and I looked at the doors, then at Dad. He went from looking confident and angry to unsure. Spike grunted and Dad looked over at us. Spike looked at him for a long moment, then snuffed and looked at the doors. I just glowered at him.

Dad grunted as if he was in pain. He turned away from the wheel and began to walk to the doors. "The dog," he muttered unhappily. "And the crew and the daughter and—and—and the—the woman!" He banged his fist on the doors three times, then crossed his arms and waited. He cast an angry glance back at me and the crew, who crossed their arms expectantly. Even Kale did.

Dad banged again on the doors. Marina opened them and stuck her head out. "What?" she demanded.

"Thank you," Dad said, still angry.

"You're welcome!" she snapped back.

"No problem!"

"Don't worry about it!"

"I won't!"

"Good!"

"Good-bye!"

"Bye to you!" She slammed the doors shut again.

Dad sighed angrily and turned back to the crew. The crew uncrossed their arms and went back to work. Dad looked back at the doors again and grinned a little. Then he noticed Spike and me next to him. I was still looking at him expectantly, while Spike was panting happily again. "You happy now?" he asked Spike. The dog barked and wagged his tail.

"And you?" he asked me.

"You could've been nicer," I commented. "And you haven't thanked me yet, either."

Dad sighed. He grinned at me and ruffled my hair. "Thanks," he said.

"Better," I said. Dad shook his head and turned to go back to the quarterdeck with Kale. As he walked away, I noticed a hole in the seat of his pants. I giggled and looked at Spike. The dog looked sheepishly at me, then back at Dad's ripped pants. I giggled again and climbed to the end of the bowsprit to loosen the jibs and forestaysail.


	6. Chapter 6

The night after the sirens, I dreamt that I was with Eris, looking into a bowl of water.

"Hello, my little guest," she said soothingly. I shivered. I didn't like that she knew I "visited" her in my dreams.

"Why are you here?" she asked, running her long fingers through my short brown hair. I shivered again and said nothing.

She frowned at my silence. "When a goddess talks to you," she said, placing herself between me and the bowl and cupping my chin with her fingers, "you are expected to answer her."

I gulped and whispered hoarsely, "I don't know."

"What was that?" she asked, leaning in closer.

"I don't know," I stated a little clearer.

"That's better," she said, moving away from the bowl and gently pushing me towards it. "Now that we know you don't know why you're here, I think I might explain it for you. You're here because you wish to know if your friend, the precious Prince Proteus, is alright."

My eyes widened. True, I had been wondering if Proteus was ok, but how did she know?

"Because I can be a kind goddess," Eris continued, "I'm going to let you check in on the prince. You won't be able to talk to him, but you will be able to see him and hear him."

"Why?" I asked. "Why are you letting me do this?"

Eris laughed a cruel laugh. "Because I like to take a special interest in my mortal pets," she said, stroking my hair again. "Go on, look into the bowl, and you'll see your dearest Proteus."

Still afraid, I gazed into the bowl like she said. To my amazement, I saw Proteus looking out the window of the prison tower in Syracuse.

Proteus turned from the window when he heard the door to his cell open. His father, Dymas, came in. "Proteus," he said softly, hurrying to his son. "Come quickly."

"What?" Proteus asked, confusion showing on his face.

"There's a ship waiting in the harbor," Dymas said. "There's a crew of my most trusted officers will take you far from Syracuse." Dymas grabbed Proteus's arm and began to drag him to the door.

Proteus twisted his arm out of his father's grip and protested, "But the Ambassador's guards—"

"Are asleep, or well bribed. But we must go now!" Dymas said, turning.

Proteus frowned and shook his head. "Go where?" he asked. "To live the rest of my life in exile?"

"To live, son!" Dymas cried. "I won't let them execute you for Sinbad and Kailani's crime."

"Neither will Sinbad," Proteus said confidently.

"Proteus!" Dymas snapped. Proteus turned from his father. "Don't be foolish! Sinbad and his wretch of a daughter have no intention of going to Tartarus! The Sinbad you knew as a child is—"

"Is still in him as a man!" Proteus interrupted, turning back to his father. "I've seen it."

"Proteus," Dymas began. He looked sorrowfully at his son, then sighed. He looked defeated.

Proteus gave his father a small smile and put his hand on Dymas's shoulder. "Go, Father," Proteus said. "I know what I'm doing."

Dymas gripped his son's wrist. Proteus turned from him and went back to the window while Dymas left.

Eris snapped me out of the scene before me. "So, what have we learned?" she asked, untangling her fingers from my hair. I reached back to feel it. She had put small braids in it. I grimaced. I always looked stupid in braids. I began to pull them out.

"Ah, ah, ah," she said, grabbing my hand. "Each one you undo, another life blinks out."

I stopped, frozen in mid-braid.

Eris laughed. Well, more like cackled. "Oh, mortals are _so_ fun to play with," she cackled. "So, are you satisfied with my gift?"

"Gift?" I asked, suddenly angry. "Your '_gift_' makes me look stupid, and if I undo any of these damn braids, I'm going to kill people! Your gift sucks!"

Eris glared at me. "I didn't mean your hair, you stupid girl," she spat. "That was just for fun. I meant letting you look into my scrying bowl to see Proteus."

"Oh," I said, afraid again. I had just insulted a goddess! And not just any goddess. I had insulted Eris, the goddess of chaos. "I…um, it was nice."

"So," she said, undoing a braid. "What do you say?"

"Um, thanks?" I said, unsure.

She grinned evilly. "That's all I wanted you to say," she said. She snapped her fingers and my dream ended.

* * *

><p>I awoke in the middle of the night, gasping. I looked over at Dad, who was asleep and snoring softly. I reached for my hair; afraid I might find it in braids. I sighed in relief as I felt my usual straight hair plastered to my head by sweat. I flopped back in my hammock, hoping that I wouldn't see Eris for the rest of the night, not to mention my life.<p>

* * *

><p>The next afternoon, we stopped at an island we found to make repairs.<p>

"All right, listen up!" Kale told the crew. "We're here for ten minutes. You get lost, you get left."

I was standing next to Dad, who was examining the extent of the damage to the _Chimera_ on the railing of the quarterdeck.

"Ugh!" he groaned. "How did one woman and a girl do so much damage?" He broke off the piece he was holding in his hand and sighed. "All right," he said, walking up to Kale. "We're gonna need the full set of chisels, a jackplane, and about a cord of cut wood."

"All right men, you heard the captain," Kale called. "Find some logs and be quick about it!"

Dad moaned as he leaned over the side of the ship and began to rub it as if it were his pet and it was sick.

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Marina exclaimed. "You only need a little tree sap and she'll be good as new!" She stomped off the ship with a bucket in her hand.

"When I want your advice, I'll—" Dad looked up. "Hey!" He jumped down to the main deck. "Where do you think you're going?" When she didn't answer, he said, "Well, fine. At least take someone with—" Dad watched in awe as Rat, Jin, Li, and Luca crowded around Marina as she stepped off the ship, offering to escort her.

"How nice to see how some men haven't forgotten a little common courtesy," I heard her say as she held out her hands for them to lead her away.

Kale and I jumped down from the quarterdeck next to Dad, buckets in hand.

"Common courtesy," Dad snorted to himself as we tried to go by. "Not so fast," he told us.

"But you know she's right," I protested. "Tree sap will be perfect for the—"

"Just," Dad said, holding out a hand. "Stay with the ship."

Kale nodded in agreement. I crossed my arms. "No," I said. "I'm going. Just try and stop me." I took a step toward the board to get off the ship.

"Damn it, Lani!" Dad snapped. He scooped me up and swung me over the railing so I was half on, half off, my rear up in the air. He grabbed a loose plank and…and _smacked_ me. Hard.

My eyes went wide and I slowly slid from my position on the rail to the deck. "You…you paddled me," I said in disbelief, looking at his stern face. Suddenly I felt like crying. I ran for the nearest mast before Dad and Kale, who was as shocked as I was, could see the tears building up in my eyes. I scrambled up as fast as I could, ignoring Dad's cry of "Lani! Come back!" As soon as I reached the crow's nest, I curled up into a ball and let the tears fall.

* * *

><p>"Damn it!" Sinbad cried as his daughter disappeared into the crow's nest. "What is with me?"<p>

Kale said nothing for a minute. "Why did you paddle her? You've never paddled her in your life, not even when she's disobeyed direct orders."

Sinbad sighed. "I'm just…frustrated. Stay with the ship and let me know if she comes down and hides anywhere, ok?"

Kale nodded. "And if she doesn't?" he asked.

"I'll climb up and see her myself," Sinbad said, walking off the ship and running to catch up with the others.

"I already said thank you!" Sinbad called after Marina. "This is what this is all about, isn't it?"

"It's about repairing the ship," Marina replied, walking up to a promising-looking tree. "If I break something, I fix it. Um, knife please." She held out a hand.

"Oh yeah, like I'd give _you_ a weapon," Sinbad said, crossing his arms and looking at her disbelievingly. His face turned to shock as Rat, Jin, Li, and Luca all offered their knives to her.

"Thank you Rat," Marina said, taking his knife. She turned back to the tree.

Rat grinned at Sinbad and went over to him. "You know," he said, "you really ought to be a little more courteous." He chuckled at his joke.

Sinbad promptly punched him in the face, knocking him off of the rock he was balancing on. "Oh, great," Sinbad groaned to himself through gritted teeth. "Now I'm getting etiquette lessons from a bilge rat." He growled and stomped over to Marina and the others.

"Well, she did save the ship, captain," Luca said.

"Why, thank you, Luca," Marina said, smiling at the man before turning back to the tree.

"And now she's helping to fix it," Rat said, getting up from where Sinbad had punched him down.

"Very handy, I'd say," Jin said.

"And brave!" Li added as Sinbad put a hand over his eyes.

"This…girl," Sinbad said, taking his hand off his eyes and motioning to Marina, who was collecting tree sap in her bucket, "wouldn't know how to fix a broken fingernail!" He turned and started back to the ship. His frustration and anger at himself and the others was starting to come out, but he didn't care.

Marina stopped and turned around. "Honestly, you are the most boorish, pig-headed man I've ever met."

Sinbad turned around to her and pointed at her. "Hey, lady," he said. "I've seen the high-born boys your type hangs out with. I'm the _only_ man you've ever met." Thinking he had won, he turned for the ship again.

Marina's face twisted in anger. She hurled her bucket at Sinbad's retreating head.

She hit him dead on. The bucket hit the back of his head and poured its contents all over his head and down his back. He groaned and he winced at the sharp pain.

The twins, Rat, and Luca winced too. They knew what was coming.

Sinbad turned back to look at her. He glared. She looked back at him, a confident smirk on her face.

Sinbad smirked and knelt down to a pile of mud next to him. He began to gather it into a giant ball.

"Oh, no," Marina warned him, seeing what he was doing. She wagged a finger at him. "No! No!"

He threw the ball. It hit her square in the face, knocking her off her feet.

"Five on Marina," Jin said as she stood back up.

She grunted and wiped the mud off her face. "You…" she breathed dangerously. "Egotistical…"

"You spoiled…" Sinbad began, straightening his cap.

"Disrespectful, pretentious," she continued, picking up a crab.

"Deluded," Sinbad said, pointing at her.

"Hapless, self-centered…" She threw the crab.

He neatly dodged it and said, "High-and-mighty…" She conked his forehead with a coconut.

"Ungrateful, impossible…" She continued to throw things at him as he stepped toward her. "Insufferable!"

"At least I'm not repressed!" he cried at her, stepping up and getting in her face.

"Repressed?" she exclaimed. "I'll show you repressed!" She knelt down and picked up what looked like a piece of wood and swung it over her head, meaning to bring it down as hard as she could on his head.

Suddenly the ground started to shake and all the plants shrunk into the ground.

"What the…?" Sinbad asked quietly.

A giant ball of light attached to what looked like a tree swung around and seemed to…stare at them.

"Put it back," Sinbad said softly out of the corner of his mouth to Marina.

She grinned nervously at the light and dropped the "wood" on the ground.

They all gasped at the ground underneath them moved to reveal a giant blue eye. Rat lost his balance and fell on the eye, making a wet _splat_!

"Ew," he said, looking at the eye slime on his hands and legs. Spike barked and joined him on the eye, lapping up the slime. "Ew," Rat said again, watching the dog enjoy his "meal."

The eye moved so it was staring right at Rat and Spike, then around to get a good look at everyone else. Everybody screamed.

"Run!" Sinbad screamed at the top of his voice. "It's a fish!" They all made a beeline for the ship.


	7. Chapter 7

"Kale! Lani!" I heard my dad call. I looked out over the crow's nest to see him and the rest of the crew being chased by a giant light thing. "Kale! Lani!" Dad screamed again, drawing out the sounds of our names.

Something jostled the ship and made me fall out of the crow's nest. I yelped and gripped a nearby line. Unfortunately, my hand was slippery and I slid down the rope a few feet, burning my hand as I went. When I was close enough to the deck that I wouldn't injure myself, I let my body drop to Kale, who was standing back up.

We watched as a humongous fin came out of the water right next to the boat. The fin came down again, pushing our ship out to sea.

"Dad!" I cried, forgetting I was mad at him. "Dad! Marina! Guys!"

I watched as they jumped across one side of the fin to the other. They slid down the fin. "Kale! Lani!" Dad called again.

"Got it!" Kale cried. I turned to see him at the wheel and turning the ship back to the fin so we could catch them. I scurried up the rigging, moving the main boom and the fore boom out of the way so they wouldn't hit them as they flew onto the ship.

Dad wrapped his arm around Marina and grabbed a rope I held out to them as the came flying towards me. They swung around the front of the ship and landed on the quarterdeck next to Kale as the others grabbed the shrouds of the main boom.

"Veer off, Kale!" I heard Dad cry as I swung to them.

"The star!" Marina called, pointing.

I turned back and saw it. An idea formed in my head. Apparently, Dad was getting the same idea.

"Hold your heading!" Dad told Kale. He jumped off the quarterdeck and snatched up a rope with a hook on it. "Lani! Tie it off!" he cried, and threw the unhooked end up. I snatched it out of the air and tied it tightly to the main mast, wrapping it around twice before tying it with six different kinds of knots.

Dad jumped onto the bowsprit and threw the rope as far as he could. He was able to get it to hook onto the fish's hide as it swam away. "Ha ha!" he cried, turning back to us.

"Wait, wait!" I cried, not done with my knots. The rope yanked my feet out from under me and jerked to ship forward, making Dad fall off the bowsprit. We both looked up to see Marina holding onto a rope and laughing at us. Kale was at the wheel, trying to keep the ship steady so we wouldn't capsize.

Dad gave her a stupid grin and helped me back to my feet. I ran to the forestaysail and grabbed the rope that held it tightly, whooping at the ride. We bounced and bobbed along in the wake of the fish, going faster than I had ever dared dream. Instantly, Dad was there with me, whooping too. We hollered and cried happily as the ship bounced at every wave. I laughed in glee.

Dad leaned into me and said into my ear, "I'm sorry, Lani."

I replied by throwing my arms around him in a hug and hanging on for dear life. "I forgive you!" I cried, laughing in delight. Dad laughed with me as we rode in the wake.

* * *

><p>We rode in the wake all through the night and into the next morning. By that time, everyone but me was green in the face, even Dad. He was actually leaning on the railing on the forecastle deck, while I was still on the bowsprit. I was still whooping. I laughed as we hit a particularly rough wave.<p>

"Sinbad!" I heard Kale call. "The men can't take much more!"

Dad groaned and yelled back, "I can't—" he was cut off for a second as he was thrown against the railing "—take much more either. Lani, cut the line!"

I moaned. "Dad!" I complained. "This is fun!"

"Do it!" he snapped.

I sighed but complied. I whipped out my knife and sawed off the rope.

We slowed down as the fish swam away, and the wake went down, too. I groaned, disappointed that the ride had to end so early.

I looked at the crew, who were hanging over the side, about ready to puke. Spike suddenly hiccupped, his pre-warning for puke. "Oh, no, Spike!" Luca said.

The others saw the danger but weren't quick enough to get away. The dog hurled all over the crew.

"Oh, bad dog," Jed said, wiping the puke off his clothes.

"Hey, where'd he get the carrots?" one asked, inspecting the puke.

Dad groaned as he watched the spectacle. He pushed himself up and staggered over to the railing on the main deck. He moaned and rubbed his face. "Who's idea was that again?" he asked, looking at Marina and me.

Marina choked back her bile and said, "I don't know." She staggered over to Dad and sat next to him. "But he owes me lunch." They chuckled at her joke.

"How can you guys be sick?" I asked. "That was the best thing ever!"

Dad looked at me incredulously. "How can you _not_ be sick?" he asked back. "Everyone feels like they have to puke! But you laughed and hollered and whooped the whole time like it was some kind of thrill!"

"It was!" I said, excited. "It was fun!"

"You're serious," Dad said, looking me over like I was some kind of crazy person. "Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?"

I laughed. "Nothing, I'm right here," I told him. "I just ignored the fact that I was going to be sick, and I was fine. Instead, I enjoyed the ride."

Dad looked behind me and stood up. Marina stood with him and I turned around to see what was so interesting.

"The Granite Gates," Dad said, placing a hand on my shoulder. He looked at Marina. "Bet you never thought I'd get us this far." He leaned against the opposite railing of the one he had just been sitting on. He smirked knowingly at me. I grinned back.

"No, I didn't," Marina replied. She paused. "But Proteus did." At the mention of his name I perked up. "For some reason he trusts you." She walked over to Dad and placed her hands on the railing next to him.

Dad turned around and leaned out over the railing, too. "Well," he said, "what could he have been thinking?" He averted his eyes from Marina.

Marina looked at the sea for a moment. She looked back at Dad. "How did you two ever meet?" she asked.

"Yeah, Dad," I said, squeezing underneath his arm so he couldn't ignore me. "Proteus never said how. He just said you did. How'd you meet him?"

Dad sighed. He looked at me, then Marina. He laughed a little. "Running for my life, as usual," he said, hopping up above us onto the forecastle deck. "A couple of angry thugs had cornered me outside of the palace walls." He slipped a prong that held the foresail's ropes to the deck when it was rolled up out and held the ropes with one hand, the prong in the other. "I was trapped," he said, letting the ropes go to bring the foresail down. "A sword at my throat, at my chest," he continued, holding the knife-looking prong at each body part as he mentioned it. "At my—"

"Pickles and eggs!" our cook interrupted, coming out of the hold that held the food. The crew groaned. I was pretty sure no one wanted to eat today, not after last night's ride.

We turned back to Dad, who was pointing the prong at a very inappropriate place. He cleared his throat and threw the prong away. "Well, you get the idea," he said. He walked to the bowsprit. "And then, suddenly, there was a fourth blade." Dad sat down and I crawled into his lap. He absently wrapped one arm around me. "It was Proteus," Dad continued. "You see, he'd watched it all from his room in the palace. He actually climbed down the castle wall to fight at my side and boy! Did we fight! It was like we had rehearsed it. We were best friends from that day forward." Dad looked back out at the sea.

"What happened with you two?" Marina asked, as totally enthralled with the story as I was.

Dad was silent for a long moment. He carefully pushed me out of his lap and looked at his feet.

"What is it?" I asked, wanting to know more.

Dad slid down off the bowsprit. "We…took different paths," he summed up vaguely.

I looked at Marina. Marina looked at me. "Do you know what he means?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Do you?" she asked me.

"I asked first, so no," I said, looking back at Dad. We shrugged at each other and went to go help the crew ready the ship.

Suddenly I was hit with a brain-splitting headache. I fell from the forecastle deck and down to the main deck, clutching my head and not even bothering to stop myself. I faintly heard Marina and Dad call "Lani!" before I was sucked into Tartarus.

* * *

><p>Eris didn't have the little creatures surrounding her this time. No, actually, she looked like she was in a bath with a bunch of different bubbles floating around. As a bubble floated by me, I looked closer for inspection. It looked like it contained the <em>Chimera<em> in it, and I could make out Marina's face clearly.

"Enough talking," Eris groaned, turning my attention back to her. An evil grin crept onto her face. "Time for some screaming." She blew on the bubble I had inspected. It froze and dropped into her palm. She shook it and looked into it, then looked up at me.

"Hello again, little one," she said. "You still haven't given your daddy my warning. I forgot to remind you last time. Make sure and tell him this time, ok? Tell him he will never get the Book of Peace from me." She reached out to a bubble floating by her face. She popped it and I came to.

* * *

><p>The first things that came into focus as my vision cleared were Dad and Marina standing over me, concern written all over their faces. I groaned and rubbed my temples. "What happened?" Dad asked, helping me sit up.<p>

I groaned. "Softly," I whispered. "My head hurts."

Dad looked me over for a second, then scooped me up and started to carry me to our cabin. As he carried me there, I saw the crew around us, concerned. I moaned and shut my eyes. Seeing hurt. Hell, doing just anything hurt.

I felt Dad put me down in his own bed. He brushed the hair off my face and whispered to me, "Lani, what happened?"

I sighed and waited for the throbbing in my head to go down to a bearable degree. Once it was down, I muttered, "I don't know. One minute I'm walking with Marina to go help the crew release the sails, the next I have a humongous headache, and after that, I'm in Tartarus with Eris."

"Eris?" Dad asked, shocked.

"Why were you with Eris?" Marina asked. I looked up to see her standing behind Dad.

"I'm not sure," I said. "I've been having these dreams about going to Tartarus and seeing her. The first time, she had a champagne glass and said something about mood music. Then she told me to tell Dad that we wouldn't get the Book from her." I found myself pouring out the entire story of all my dreams, ending with the newest one, which wasn't really a dream.

"And I don't know why this is happening," I finished. The headache was almost gone.

Dad and Marina were silent for a few long minutes. Dad finally sighed. "I don't get it," he said. "I thought Eris just talked to me." He looked at me. "I guess I was wrong."

I nodded slowly. "Dad…I don't know how to stop them," I said softly, referring to the dreams.

"I don't know how, either, other than keeping you from sleeping," he said. He stood up. "I guess we're just going to have to bear with them. But I don't want you swinging around up in the sails, ok? You keep both feet firmly planted on the decks. And no going on the bowsprit, either. I don't want you falling overboard."

I nodded in agreement, even though I didn't like it. No going up the masts? For me, that was like keeping me from eating. I couldn't live without it. That was my domain, my haven, the place where I belonged on the ship. But I saw the logic behind it. If another one of these headaches happened and I conked out again, I might fall and possibly kill myself, if not seriously injure myself before I'd wake up and stop myself. This time, I had been lucky, but next time might not be so.

"Ok," I said softly. "Let's go back outside. We need to get going if we're going to make it to Tartarus and back in time to save Proteus."

Dad and Marina nodded. They left, and I followed them, heartbroken that I was forbidden to join Rat among the rigging.

The crew was waiting for us when we went above deck again. They stared at me but didn't ask questions.

"Men," Dad said, "we've got a long way to go still and a short time to get there. So let's go! Rat, Lani will not be able to help you with the rigging. Instead, Marina will."

Marina cast a sharp glance at Dad.

"What?" he asked innocently. "You can't handle heights?"

"No," she said. "I…um…oh, never mind. Let's go, Rat." She followed Rat to the main mast.

Suddenly I heard something like cracking ice coming from in front of the boat. I ran to the forecastle deck, and, momentarily forgetting my ban on the bowsprit, I climbed on it to see what was coming. A blast of cold air whipped at me. I was shocked to see ice suddenly forming all around us; on the sea, the Granite Gates, and when it got to the ship, on the _Chimera_.

"For crying out loud, what next?" Dad exclaimed, looking at the ice. He turned and almost ran into Kale. "Whoa, get a shirt on before you poke someone's eye out," he commanded the man. He brushed past Kale to address the crew. "Ok, guys get down there and break it up! We've got to keep moving!" He noticed me on the bowsprit. "Lani! What did I say earlier?"

"Sorry, sorry!" I called, jumping down and slipping on the slick ice. Marina held out a hand to pull me up. "Thanks," I said. I headed to Dad's cabin to get my cold weather gear.

"Got your own coat?" Dad asked Marina. She shook her head. "Come on, then. We should have a coat that'll fit you."

We rummaged through Dad's cold gear for a few minutes before we found a nice long coat that looked warm. Marina tried it on and said it fit perfectly. She left to go help Kale get rid of the ice on the ship.

Dad tossed me my cold gear. "Put these on," he said. As if I was going to do anything else. I didn't say anything but did as he said.

"The hat too," he said, seeing me trying to hid it in my hammock so I wouldn't have to wear it. I groaned but yanked it on my head.

"You stay on the ship with us," Dad said, pulling on his own fur-lined cap. "You can help us break the ice on the main deck."

I nodded and headed out to the deck. I grabbed the pick and bucket Kale offered me and set to work.


	8. Chapter 8

A half hour into the ice and we barely made a dent.

"Steal the Book of Peace," Rat grumbled as he chipped away and shivered in his tattered furs. I told him he should've gotten better furs. "We will retire to the tropics." He grunted some more as he chipped faster to keep warm.

Spike suddenly barked. I looked up from my position on the main deck, where I was chipping at the ice on the railing, being careful not to damage it. I cast a glance at Dad before looking in the direction Spike was barking. Something had greatly disturbed the dog, because he was barking his warning bark, trying to get our attention.

I looked around, not seeing anything. Spike kept barking, so I kept looking. The dog had never failed in warning us before, so why doubt him now?

The crew stopped picking at the ice on the sea and looked around, too. Apparently, they couldn't see the danger either.

I didn't like it. A sudden wave of unease fell over us, shutting us up and tuning our ears for signs of danger. The wind blew around, making it hard to locate anything with our ears, so we relied on our eyes.

Spike ran up to the forecastle deck where Marina was and barked some more in the direction the bowsprit was pointing. Everyone looked that way.

Something white sort of glided out from behind a hunk of the Granite Gates about a mile off. I squinted, trying to make it out before it flew behind another part of the Gates. Frowning, I wasn't sure what I had been able to make out. It looked like it was some sort of giant bird.

An eerie cry that sounded like a bird's reached our ears over the noise of the wind. I frowned again and looked around for the white thing again, guessing the sound came from it.

Spike whimpered and ran back to cower behind me. "What's wrong, boy?" I asked him softly, rubbing his neck to sooth him. He whimpered again and shook. My eyebrows knit together and I looked back for the thing.

Without warning, a giant white bird with yellow eyes and a blue beak, wingtips, and facial feathers burst through the Gates that were on the left side of the ship. It let out a shriek and flew around the ship, swooping low and close. If I had been on the other side of the ship, I could've reached out and touched it, that's how close it was. Marina gasped and ducked as it passed.

"Everyone back on the ship!" Dad yelled as the bird swooped around us again. Everybody ran as fast as they could for the _Chimera_, a few tripping over their own feet.

"Come on!" Kale yelled to them, running to us himself. "Come on, move faster!"

I reached out to help Luca as he made it to the ship on my side first. I pulled the skinny man up and over the railing and thrust out my hands for the next person.

The bird shrieked again, making me look up to see Jet running for the ship, the bird closing in behind him. The bird moved in to grab him, but in missed as Jet jumped into a pool of freezing water that the men had managed to free from the ice. We waited, then sighed in relief as Jet surfaced next to a small ice cap. He clawed at it, trying to stay above the water.

"Jet!" I heard Marina call. "Grab the rope!" I watched her throw a rope out to the man as she climbed on the bowsprit. Jed caught the rope and held on as Marina began to wrap her end around the bowsprit so Jed could pull himself out of the water.

The bird came swooping back, heading straight for Marina.

"Marina!" Dad screamed. She turned to look at him, then sensed the presence of the bird, but saw the danger too late. She had just turned to look at the bird when it grabbed her in its talons.

"Marina!" I shrieked. I ran to the edge of the ship and grabbed the bird's talons. Dad ran over and jumped up. He was able to grab her hand, but was slammed against the railing on the forecastle deck. His hand slipped from hers.

Marina struggled to pull herself out of the bird's talons. I tugged on them with her, trying to make it let her go. I looked back to see Dad watching us go. I growled and turned back to my more pressing concerns, mainly holding on tight to the talons.

The bird flew us up to the top of the tower of the frozen Granite Gates. "You stupid bird!" I screamed at it. "Let us go!"

The bird apparently heard me and dropped us on the top to the tower. I rolled to avoid bodily damage and looked at the bird. It trapped Marina underneath one foot with its talons and bent down to pick her up in its beak.

"Stop it!" I screamed at it. "Don't you freaking _dare_ eat her!"

The bird looked up and studied me curiously. Marina struggled to get out. "I'm stuck!" she yelled. The bird cawed and went for her again.

"I said don't touch her!" I shrieked, my voice cracking. The bird froze, its beak wide open. "Now you let her go! This instant!" Reluctantly, the bird lifted its foot and Marina scrambled out from underneath. She hurried over to me.

"What do we do now?" she asked, rubbing her arms to keep warm. She kept glancing nervously at the bird. It gave a small shudder, ruffling its feathers, in return. It squawked and looked around, shuffling in place.

"I have no idea," I said. "I'll distract it and you try to find cover. It seems to listen to me, but I don't know how long I'll be able to keep it off of you. When I say now, run." She nodded that she understood.

I turned back to the bird. "All right, you!" I snapped. "Listen up!" The bird cocked its head to the side and watched me with its golden eyes. I bent down and picked up a stick. "Fetch!" I threw the stick as far as I could, straight up on a pillar. It squawked again and jumped on the pillar, using its talons to hold itself there while its beak struggled to get the stick. That gave Marina enough time to make a break for the little ice cave things. Ice had frozen over some rock piles on the Granite Gates tower and Marina ducked in one.

I bit my lip and looked around. Ok, bird's attention, check. Marina temporarily safe, check. Me safe? Not check. Now what was I going to do?

The bird suddenly dropped the stick I'd thrown in front of me with a satisfied shriek. It scratched at the snow like a chicken does the dirt and looked at me expectantly.

I picked the stick up again, not taking my eyes off the bird. It gave a small caw and shook its head. I turned and whipped the stick as far away as I could. The bird shrieked and went for it while I dove for the cave Marina had gone in.

"Fetch? Seriously?" Marina asked once we were somewhat safely inside the cave.

"Hey, it was spur of the moment," I said, shrugging. "The only animals I've ever really known are Spike and the occasional fish. What did you expect me to do?"

Marina opened her mouth and an angry shriek cut her off. I turned to look out to see the bird dropping the stick I'd thrown and scratching around in the snow and ice, looking for us. I bit my lip and hurried Marina into another ice cave. Now we just had to play cat and mouse, or bird and bait, until we figured something out.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile…<p>

"Rat! Don't let the blocks freeze!" Sinbad called as he strapped knives to the bottom of his shoes. Yes, he was planning to rescue them. Why, he wasn't sure. For Marina, anyway. It was a given that he had to rescue Lani. But Marina? Well, if she wasn't eaten by the time he got there, he'd get her, too.

"Aye, aye, captain!" Rat answered.

"And Kale?" Sinbad said as he stood up.

"Aye?" the man asked, stepping forward.

"Give me a hug?" Sinbad asked, spreading his arms and wrapping them around his friend.

"'Scuse me?" Kale asked, backing away.

Sinbad grabbed Kale's knives from behind the man's back. He stepped back and showed Kale what he had been after. Kale smiled and shook his head at Sinbad, hands on his hips.

Sinbad grabbed his shield and strapped it to his back. He wasn't sure if he would need it, but better to be safe then sorry. He flipped the switch that made the harpoon gun come out of the forecastle deck. Rat had already taken down the forestaysail and the two jibs so Sinbad would have a clear shot to the tower. He grabbed the rope attached to the end of the harpoon and whistled for Spike.

The big dog barked and yanked the bone attached to a rope that shot the harpoon. Sinbad held on tight as the harpoon and him went flying to the tower. He reveled in the sensation of flying for a moment before getting serious and whipping out the knives so he would cling to the tower.

He hit the tower with a _smack_! He grunted and pulled his face away from the snow. He shook his head like a dog to get rid of the snow clinging to his face and began to climb the tower.

"Oh, you couldn't see the bird?" he muttered to himself as he climbed. "Everyone _else_ saw it. It's as big as the freaking ship! Marina? Marina is looking the _other_ way. And Lani? Lani had to play hero and jump on the bird to _save_ Marina." He continued to grumble as he made his way, slowly but surely, up the tower.

* * *

><p>Marina and I took turns watching the bird and looking for little hideaways for when the bird go to close. It was my turn to look for them when Dad snuck up behind us and surprised us.<p>

I felt a hand wrap around my mouth and pulled me back. I turned to see the hand was Dad's and he had done the same thing to Marina to keep us quiet so we wouldn't inadvertently tell the bird where we were.

"Dad," I whispered hoarsely. I gave him a hug and he patted me on the back. I let him go and turned back to watch the bird, which was still looking for Marina and me.

"You're rescuing us," Marina whispered.

"Yes," Dad said. "If that's what you want to call it. But this is going to cost you another diamond. Rescues aren't part of the usual tourist package."

I shushed them and pulled them to another hideaway, just in time as the bird's foot came down on our previous one.

We froze for a second, waiting for the bird to pass. Once it did, I crept to the edge to watch it and make sure it didn't see us.

"So," Marina asked, "how are we going to get down?"

"I…I don't know," Dad said.

"What?" I whispered as loud as I dared, glaring at him for a brief second before turning back to the bird.

"I don't know yet," Dad corrected. He looked at Marina, who glared. "I'm thinking about it, alright?"

"You scaled a thousand foot tower of ice, and you don't know how to get down?" Marina whispered furiously.

"Of all the ungrateful—" Dad stopped himself and grunted softly. "Look, if you'd rather take your chances on your own, that can be arranged!"

I shushed them again and ducked down beneath the ice hideaway walls. They ducked down too as the bird stalked past, sweeping its giant head back and forth, searching. I crawled to the other side to keep an eye on the bird.

"So, what have we got to work with?" Marina asked, trying to come up with a plan. "Um…ropes?"

"No," Dad whispered.

"Grappling hooks?" Marina asked.

"Yeah, no," Dad whispered.

"Your swords?" Marina asked desperately, obviously out of ideas.

Dad's face brightened. "Hey! I've got this!" He whipped out a knife.

"I've got mine, too!" I whispered. I pulled them out to show them.

Marina sighed unhappily. "Oh, great. He can pick his teeth when he's done with us!" she hissed.

"Yeah, ok, see, in the hands of an expert, a good knife has a thousand and one uses," he explained as he twirled the knife around. Suddenly the knife slipped from his fingers and became wedged in the top of our little hideaway. The ice cracked and split apart around us, revealing us to the bird.

Marina glared. "Obviously, you are not an expert," I said dryly. Dad chuckled nervously and looked at the bird.

The bird spotted us and shrieked its discovery. "Run!" Dad screamed, and grabbed Marina by the arm, pulling her along with him. I was already taking off with him, moving my legs as fast as they could go. "Come on! Faster!" Dad yelled at Marina, who kept looking behind us.

We reached the edge of the top of the tower. "Let's go!" Dad yelled, and we jumped. We free fell for what seemed for a few minutes. Dad pulled Marina on top of him and I grabbed his shoulders. He yanked his shield off his shoulders and placed it under his butt. I hooked my feet onto the edge and clutched Dad's shoulders as tight as I could.

We hit the snow hard. As we slid down, we bumped along. We kept yelling "Ow!" It hurt, probably more so for Dad and Marina, who were sitting, than me, who was standing and could sway along with the bumps. Although I will say my feet did not appreciate the somewhat sharp edges of the shield.

"I think we lost him!" Dad yelled to us once the ride smoothed out.

I spotted something white whizzing past us off to the side. "I don't think so!" I yelled as the bird landed in front of us and shrieked.

Marina and I screamed. "Heads down!" Dad shouted, and brought the shield on top of us. The bird attacked, trying to grab us, but because of the shield, it didn't work.

As we slid down, my shirt began to creep up off me and snow touched my back.

"Whoa!" I shouted as I felt the coldness touch me. Dad shoved the shield back under us and I crouched on it again. Rocks fell as we went underneath them, nearly crushing us. We swerved to avoid them. Dad smirked at Marina and she gave him a small smile back.

I looked out in front of us, where a small rock landed. We were headed straight for it!

"Rock!" I screeched.

"Where?" they shouted, looking around at the sky, thinking I meant the bird.

"Not that Roq! Rock!" I screamed. I pointed to the rock in our way.

Marina screamed and Dad shouted, "Oh, no!"

We hit the rock dead on. It launched us up into the air and over the bird's head as it flew by. We landed on the snow. I looked ahead again to see the bird land in front of us for the second time. I screamed.

Dad looked around wildly. "Lean right!" he shouted, and did so, pulling Marina with him. Their weight was enough to steer us away from the bird and into a cave. The force was also enough to bring them to their feet on the shield. I let go of Dad's shoulder and settled for holding onto his middle. He wrapped an arm around Marina to keep her from falling off the shield. We came to a stop right on the edge of a cliff of ice.

Dad grinned at us. We grinned back.

Suddenly the bird burst through the ice that made up the cave wall. "Come on!" Dad said, and leaned forward, taking us over the cliff.

"Oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!" I howled the whole way down the cliff. The bottom abruptly shut me up as we hit it hard. We skated across the bottom and jumped the edge to another long patch of ice. The bird ran on its two legs behind us, getting closer with each step. Marina and I kept glancing back at it.

A light caught me eye. "Dad!" I yelled, and pointed. He saw the opening I spotted and pulled out his knife.

"Hang on!" he shouted, and leaned all the way over until we were parallel with the ground. He shoved his knife into the ice and used it to turn us to the opening. The bird turned with us as the tower began to crumple. Some boulders barely missed us as we whizzed by, but the bird wasn't so lucky. One huge boulder hit it square on the head. I was pretty sure it was a goner.

We came literally flying out of the opening. We all screamed as we fell towards the ship. I grabbed the shield and fell towards the front of the ship. I hit the foretopsail and heard the cloth rip as I continued to fall. The sail slowed my descent considerably, but it still hurt when I literally hit the deck.

The foretopsail was suddenly ripped off me. I looked up to see Rat and Kale holding the cloth. "Lani!" Kale exclaimed. He scooped me up into a hug and placed me on his shoulders. "You're all right!"

"Of course I am, you nincompoop," I said, rubbing my wrist where I had hit it. "Like Dad said: I always am."

Kale laughed and went to help the others untangle Dad and Marina from the part of the main sail they had ripped off when they had fallen through. The cloth came up to reveal Dad and Marina in a slightly awkward position. Dad was on top of her, and had his legs braced on either side of her middle.

"It's Marina!" the entire crew cried. Three of them offered out their hands to help her up as Dad crawled off of her and stood back. The crew swarmed around her, making sure she was ok.

"We thought you were gone forever!" Rat cried, swooping down from the main mast and hugging her around her middle. He gave little sobs. Even Kale, with me on his shoulders, momentarily forgot Dad and I existed.

Dad cleared his throat to get their attention. "Oh, I'm fine," he said sarcastically. "Really." He popped his back. "But I'm _touched_ by your concern." He groaned as he popped his back again. As he did, the tower we had just escaped from crumbled. We watched it as it fell on the ice in front of the ship and broke it for us.

The entire crew, along with me and Marina, cheered. Kale took me down from his shoulders and tossed me in the air, catching me and throwing me up again. I laughed in glee and cheered some more. Kale set me on his shoulders again and slapped high-fives with the crew. I looked over to see Dad smiling at Marina. She was smiling back.

* * *

><p><strong>Heeeeeyyyyyy, Lani's back! Sorry it took me so long. I don't own the movie and my old link for it doesn't work anymore so I had to find it again. Good news is I found it so I'll try to post more when I can! And thanks for the continued support even when I hadn't updated in a while!<strong>

**Oh, and Kailani Fan, I agree. They should've incorperated a kid-whether it have been boy or girl, it wouldn't matter-into the original movie. Don't get me wrong, the original movie was awesome in its own right. I just thought of adding a little bit more. :)**


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